Misery Loves Company
by Shari Maxwell
Summary: Kurama isn't sure if Hiei really is trying to further their relationship or not, but Kurama is reluctant to change. Yaoi HieiKurama
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings: slight OOC, and character rape (for only this chapter)**

Kurama sat at his desk and listened to the constant downpour of rain, its unbroken rhythm helped him meditate and try to calm himself. The way Hiei had acted today had truly bothered him, there was something about unusual about his mannerisms that he was sure Yusuke and Kuwabara would never have noticed. It had made him nervous when the demon had stood close enough for their fingertips to briefly brush against each other. Kurama was hoping that Hiei didn't have feelings for him; it only would make their friendship more complicated if something like that were to happen.

His mother gently tapped on his door and let herself in, "Shuichi your friend Yusuke is on the phone if you want to talk to him."

"Thank you mother..." Kurama took the cordless phone, but decided to go outside to talk instead of staying in his room. "Is there anything wrong Yusuke?"

"Nah, I was just wondering if you were busy tonight. There's something I need to talk to you about." Yusuke didn't really sound like himself, but Kurama knew Yusuke wouldn't call him out unless it was something really important.

"I'm not busy right now. Where do you want to meet?" Kurama waited for Yusuke's reply.

"How about by your school?"

"That's fine," Kurama hung up and then headed back inside to get his shoes. He told his mother he would be running to the corner store to get something for school, and headed towards his school.

The school was a pretty far distance from Yusuke's house, but it didn't surprise the redhead when he saw that his friend had already beat him there. Yusuke looked up when he heard Kurama approaching and smiled, "I promise I won't keep you long."

Yusuke led Kurama towards the park close to the school, and they remained silent as they walked. Kurama was getting anxious feeling that he had had with Hiei earlier. Kurama knew he was getting paranoid if he thought that _Yusuke_ had feelings for him too, as much as Kurama knew the spirit detective was deeply in love with Keiko.

"So what do you want to talk about Yusuke?" Yusuke stopped when Kurama asked the question, and his dark eyes looked straight into the redhead's emerald ones.

Yusuke didn't really say anything, but he sat down on a nearby bench, and once again Shuichi followed suit. Then everything went too fast and before Kurama had even realized it, Yusuke had his mouth on his and was trying to pull Kurama closer.

Kurama had known that Yusuke's demon side occasionally made him do things he wouldn't normally have ever thought of doing, and this unnatural strength that even Kurama couldn't escape from came from that demon. Kurama was sure that these were probably the spirit detective's true feelings, but he also knew Yusuke would never have done this if he were himself. Demon hormones were known to be unpredictable and this was the sort of thing that you would have to expect.

"Yusuke... stop!" He hadn't really noticed that the rain had nearly stopped until it started to pour again. He couldn't get enough time to think about how to get his friend off without hurting him. And the demon already knew about his type of weapon, so he could just surprise him like most enemies.

Everything was just going so wrong, and it seemed the demon in Yusuke had planned this better than Kurama had ever thought was possible. He really was in trouble now.

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He was soaking wet and dripping all over the carpet, but Kurama didn't really care at that moment. His mother looked at him, and immediately she looked worried. He smiled and tried to head up the stairs, but his mother knew something was wrong.

"Did something happen Shuichi?" Shiori touched her son's arm gently, and he once again smiled softly.

"I'm just disappointed they didn't have what I was looking for at the store is all. And a little annoyed that it had to start pouring right as I started walking home." Kurama continued up the stairs, and only stopped by his room for a short while to grab a change of clothes.

He then walked into the bathroom, and started a shower turning the knob to make the water as hot as possible. Kurama had never been one for a cold bath or shower, but even this temperature was extreme for him. Yet it was the only way he would feel clean, or close enough to it.

He shed his clothes and threw them in a crumpled heap in the corner, then the redhead stepped into the shower and let the burning water rush over him. Kurama made sure to get all the mess out of his hair and then washed the rest of his body.

Kurama went to his room after drying off and putting on his sleeping clothes, but he felt Hiei's presence already in his room and prepared himself to put on a mask. Hiei was waiting next to his window, and immediately his red eyes looked at him suspiciously. The small demon could sense something was wrong with Kurama, but he couldn't seem to figure out exactly what it was.

"I always thought you loved the rain," Hiei watched his friend walk over to the bed and sit on it.

"I do, but tonight it just felt like I was tainting it." The redhead smiled a fake smile, and Hiei now knew that the fox demon was truly hiding something. "If you don't mind Hiei... I have school tomorrow and a big exam."

"Why do you bother living like a human? You're obviously more intelligent than all of the humans at that _school_, so why do you bother to go?" Hiei sounded irritated, but Kurama just didn't feel up to arguing anymore.

"Hiei... please just leave."

Hiei refused to take no as an answer, so as the light turned off and his closest friend got into his bed to feign sleep, Hiei waited. There weren't many times that Kurama wasn't eerily calm, but this was one of those few times that he could feel the fox demon getting depressed rather than angry. Yet Hiei knew if he left, there wouldn't be any hope of him getting the fox demon to speak about whatever was troubling him.

"Stupid fox... always has to be stubborn and never tell anyone about his own problems."

As the night went on, there were small whimpering noises that Hiei could have never associated with Kurama. But sure enough as the demon took a few inaudible steps closer to the bed, he heard small murmurs and somebody's name was mentioned once or twice. Yet he said it so softly, Hiei couldn't be sure who he was speaking about.

Yet the demon never left Kurama's room until the next morning, the redhead still seemed exhausted even after going to bed an hour earlier than he usually did. It was strange to see the former demon thief so disoriented and lost looking.

"Kurama, what happened to you? You're not at all your usual self." Hiei commented with an unconcerned voice, yet there was something that gave Hiei the feeling he needed to protect Kurama even more when he acted like this.

"I told you I'm fine. I just feel ill, but it's nothing to worry about." Kurama went downstairs, he was greeted by his younger step-brother as he rushed off to school but his mother seemed to notice her son wasn't his usual self.

"Shuichi, do you want to stay home today? Would you like me to stay with you?" Shiori Minamino gently caressed her son's face in a motherly gesture, but Kurama softly pushed her hand away.

"I feel fine, I just had a hard time sleeping last night because of the storm."

Kurama hated lying to his mother, but he had not choice in this situation because the truth was something he couldn't even admit to himself yet. The redhead only got a glass of water for his breakfast before heading back upstairs to get ready for school.

Shiori couldn't help but feel worried about the abnormal behavior of her son, but she knew that had to leave now for her own work. "If you don't feel well in school, go home right away Shuichi!"

"Yes mother," Kurama called down as he listened to his mother leave. "Hiei, I already asked you to leave. I have to get ready for school."

"Why can't I stay then?"

"Because I have to get undressed."

"You were never so modest before, so why now?" Hiei knew that making the fox demon angry was never a good idea, but he wasn't getting many options. "I can remember many times you undressed around me, and never once did you worry about me being there."

"Well now I do, so please leave me alone." Kurama knew it wasn't going to be possible to make the demon leave without an explanation, so the redhead used the bathroom to change.

After the redhead had finished, he didn't even glance in Hiei's direction.

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Kurama's experience at school wasn't any easier, he couldn't focus on what the teachers were saying and the other students there just wouldn't seem to leave him alone. Even when he was taking his big exam, he couldn't remember the answer to one of the questions so he carelessly marked something.

Instead of going to eat lunch, he went outside to the roof where most of the kids skipping a class stared at him as if he was insane. Most of those kids left soon after his arrival except one girl named Hiromi, she happened to be in his class but she was also the girlfriend of one of the worst thugs in Kurama's school. He had never even spoken to her, but he had always know she was attracted to him.

"What's up Minamino?" She took a small drag of her cigarette and then offered it to him, Kurama wasn't sure whether she actually believed he smoked or thought that it was something sexy to do, but he knocked the cigarette from her hand.

"You ass hole! That was a perfectly good cigarette!" She was about to slap him, when the sight of Hiei suddenly appearing scared her off. "You freak! It's no wonder you don't have any real friends!"

"Why do you always have to come to my rescue?" Kurama turned to look at his companion, and found crimson eyes staring him down as well. "I already told you I'm fine... so why do you insist on constantly checking up on me?"

"Because you won't tell me what happened last night, whatever it was has shaken you up and you're more vulnerable in that state." Hiei stepped closer to the fox demon and stared at Kurama's hands.

Kurama began to walk away, but Hiei blocked his path to the stairs. Kurama could feel himself being trapped, and he suddenly felt the desperate need to get away. He looked towards the railing of the roof, and caught Hiei by surprise as he made such a desperate move.

"Kurama!"

Yet Kurama didn't stop as he managed to land hard right in front of his classmates. Jumping from the roof to the solid ground was no ordinary feat, and most kids were staring in shock and awe at the stunt the best student in the whole school had just pulled.

Then most eyes watched as Hiei was quick to follow, but the sight of Hiei also caused some girls to scream. Which started the chaos of everyone running in all directions when Hiei pulled out his sword, but he sheathed it as he found Kurama had used the confusion to his advantage to flee.

"Kurama! You're not going to be able to hide forever you know!"

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**Hey there readers! I'm Shari Maxwell and I have to say this is my first real Yu Yu Hakusho fic. I hope everyone enjoyed it, and if you have any criticism or comments please feel free to review! **

**And I want to say I know Yusuke isn't really that type of character, but I was only using his primitive demon side so in a way Yusuke wasn't really in control of his actions either. But I promise I'm not gonna make him a rapist or anything like that!**

**Please R & R !**

**Shari Maxwell**


	2. Chapter 2

Kurama wasted no time putting distance between him and Hiei, but his head pounded and his legs felt like they weighed more than a thousand pounds. He ducked into somebody's yard, not realizing exactly how far he had actually gotten. It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice that he looked up to find Kuwabara's sister running toward him.

"Kurama! Are you alright?" Shizuru knelt beside the redhead, but he stood up without her help trying to show he was fine. "You're really pale, you should go rest."

Kurama didn't feel up to objecting to some sleep, so he allowed her to help him inside as his ankle was suddenly feeling the reckless landing he'd made. Shizuru led him up the stairs and to her brother's room, while trying to hurry and clean up his room just a little.

"Don't tell anyone else about this," Kurama sat on the bed, not letting Shizuru object to him by quickly adding. "I'll be gone by the time Kuwabara gets here, so don't worry."

"But..." Shizuru knew it wouldn't be any use to argue with the fox, so she left him be without another word. She had the feeling that Kurama wouldn't wake up before her brother got home, and she just hoped that Kuwabara could talk to him.

Kurama felt strange in Kuwabara's bed, in fact it almost made him feel a bit worse, but he knew he shouldn't be picky in this situation. Hiei might think of Kuwabara's house, but that would most likely be the last place he'd expect Kurama to wind up.

It didn't take long for Kurama to fall asleep, though he slept fitfully as nightmares overwhelmed him.

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Hiei had looked over the whole city, but had found nothing so far. He had thought about asking Yusuke and Kuwabara for help, and it seemed he had no other options now. But he decided he would ask Yusuke for help, since he still preferred the spirit detective over Kuwabara.

Yusuke was at his house when Hiei finally located him, and he was taking a nap from the looks of it. The fire demon had no problem with startling him awake, as he waited in Yusuke's room. It wasn't long before Yusuke sensed someone in there with him, but he surprised Hiei when he didn't yell or scream at the sight of Hiei just being there.

"I thought you humans were diurnal," Hiei watched as Yusuke yawned loudly. "Oh did you turn nocturnal when you discovered your demon blood?"

"School is a lot more boring than I remember... I don't even know why Keiko made me go today since I missed most of last year anyway." Yusuke seemed more guarded than usual, and the detective's usual self had put up some kind of barrier to prevent Hiei from finding something out. "So why are you here? I can't remember the last time you ever visited me without a reason."

"Kurama was acting strange last night and this morning, and then he ran off all of a sudden. I need yours and Kuwabara's help finding him since I've searched every possible place I could think of." Hiei hated asking for help, and Hiei also hated the way Yusuke looked guilty all of a sudden. It was only for a split second, and then he seemed to almost _forget_ all about whatever guilt had been eating at him.

The spirit detective didn't say anything more, but he stood up and began heading towards the front door. He called to his mom to tell her he'd be back later, Hiei preferred taking the window as an entrance or exit, but he followed Yusuke out the door.

"So where have you checked already?" Yusuke was heading in the direction of Kurama's house, and Hiei felt himself getting annoyed already. "I know you said everywhere you'd expect him to be... so where didn't you check?"

"Everywhere besides where I looked," Hiei knew he was being difficult, but this whole day just seemed to be pissing him off more and more as it continued.

"You're a lot of help." Yusuke knew what had happened, and he knew that his feelings had gone out of control because of how Hiei had been moving in on Kurama. He knew it was his fault, and he knew he would have to apologize to both Kurama and Hiei, but he preferred not telling Hiei when they were alone. "Let's just look in all the places you searched, to see if he went there now, and then we'll just look throughout the city if we haven't found him by then."

Hiei didn't like the idea of Yusuke slowing him down, but the demon also knew he didn't have much of a choice now since he had requested the spirit detective's help. "Not like I have a choice..."

Hiei continued to gripe quietly as Yusuke turned into the park across from Kurama's school. The small demon was confused, and was about to remind Yusuke that the big building across the street was Kurama's school until the spirit detective stopped in front of a certain bench and looked nostalgic.

Something had apparently happened here, but as Hiei tried to see whether Kurama's scent had been here he found that the rain had only left a faint scent of the fox. And... Yusuke.

Everything seemed to make sense now, the fact that Kurama had left his house so late at night, and then came back in such a disheveled state. Yusuke had done something regrettable, and Hiei wasn't sure whether he had been intentionally led there by the dark-haired teen or if Yusuke had just come back here for his own purposes.

"Why were you and Kurama alone here last night?" Hiei's eyes narrowed as he watched Yusuke's disconcerted reaction to the demon's question. "What did you do to him?"

"Something I'll always regret..."

Yusuke didn't have to say anything more, because Hiei put two and two together and got the answer. The fire demon had always known Yusuke to be impulsive, but he had never imagined that the spirit detective would do something like that to what he called a _friend_.

"You raped him... But Kurama is not that weak! He could've easily overpowered you!"

"I was in my demon form... I'm sorry Hiei, I really am. None of this was supposed to happen, but you were moving in on him and I knew if I didn't do something he'd quickly take to you..." Yusuke's eyes stared at the ground as if it would give him something to say or tell him what to do, but it didn't unfortunately.

"So you raped him!" Hiei had completely lost it by then; he unsheathed his sword and readied himself for an attack. "Using your demon form as an excuse is contemptible; even most demons wouldn't sink so low!"

Yusuke didn't say anything, and couldn't form any words that could ever make up for what he had done. But he also knew he couldn't die before he made amends with Kurama, so he wouldn't allow Hiei to kill him.

Not just yet anyway.

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Shizuru sighed and rolled her eyes as she listened to her younger brother screaming, and most likely he had woken up Kurama. Kuwabara came barreling down the stairs and Shizuru would be amazed if the redhead hadn't woken up with all the commotion.

"Shizuru! Kurama's in my bed!" Shizuru slapped a hand over her brother's mouth to keep him quiet. Kuwabara began to calm down, and managed to ask, "Why is he in my bed?"

"He's been sleeping since noon, and I'm not sure why he came here because I didn't ask. You better not have woken him up!" She warned Kuwabara before quietly going upstairs to see how Kurama was.

Kuwabara watched his sister ascend the stairs and turn into the hallway leading towards his room. He thought about calling Yusuke and telling him about it, but he waited until Shizuru came back. She looked relieved, so he guessed that Kurama was still asleep.

"He woke up, but he went back to sleep."

"Have you told anyone he was staying here?"

"He told me not to... and he was planning on already being gone, but he looked like he hadn't slept at all last night. I don't understand what's going on, or why he won't tell anyone, but I promised not to tell so I won't." Shizuru slumped on the couch and held her forehead as if she had a migraine.

Kuwabara sat down on the couch as well, but then stood up. "I should tell Yusuke and Hiei, there could be something happening in Makai. I'll be back!"

Shizuru sighed and tried to think of back when all she ever had to worry about was her brother getting beat up by Yusuke Urameshi. Now she has to worry about demons taking over the world, either that or she'd have to take care of one. Then again, it's not like she had much else to do besides her job, and that was only at night so she could take care of Kurama until Kuwabara brought back his friends.

"This whole day just keeps getting weirder and weirder... and a bigger pain in the neck."

Kurama watched as Shizuru went into the kitchen, and he decided not to cause her any more trouble. He knew it was a lot of stress to be under, to suddenly have to take care of such an unexpected guest, but he was glad that he had gotten some sleep. He used the window to exit, and when he landed he felt the pain from landing wrong that morning.

His legs hurt slightly, but they weren't so bad that he couldn't walk so that's what he decided to do. Though he couldn't say he knew where he would go now that he had skipped school, and interrupted his friend's sister's day to have her watch over him. Kurama was reluctant to head home, but he knew if he at least called that his mother wouldn't worry so much.

"Mother, I'm going to stay the night over at a friend's house... No, I have another exam I have to study for tomorrow and I was going to help him in the process." Kurama didn't hear or sense any of his friends nearby, but he felt like finishing the conversation soon before his mother began asking how he felt again. "Sorry mother, I have to go now."

He wasn't sure where exactly to go, but there was only one place he could go at the moment. That happened to be somewhere Hiei surely wouldn't chase him to without some hesitation that might give Kurama time to sort out the issues he was having. Though the redhead was somewhat averse to this decision as well, since he didn't have the best experiences there.

Kurama headed toward the portal to Makai, and there he would go to Yomi's castle. A place where he would find peace of mind away from his friends here, as well as the torment of more unrelenting guilt to what he had done to Yomi.

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**Hope this chapter is as good as the last one... Though I don't think I did too well with the ending there. **

**Also, I've decided I will update weekly every Friday. Though if I'm late at updating I promise it won't be any later than that Sunday. **

**Please R & R !**

**Shari Maxwell**


	3. Chapter 3

Kuwabara could sense Hiei spirit energy suddenly flare up, and decided to use that to find him first. Yet when Kuwabara finally managed to find Hiei, he stumbled upon Yusuke and Hiei fighting. He tried to figure out how he hadn't noticed Yusuke's presence, but when he saw how Yusuke wasn't really fighting back Kuwabara knew something was wrong.

"What are you guys doing!" Kuwabara yelled at the two of them, but Hiei seemed to completely ignore him while Yusuke looked surprised that he was there.

"Stay out of this Kuwabara!" That was all that Yusuke said to warn Kuwabara, but Kuwabara was still confused about what was going on. He still tried to intervene, but the spirit detective roughly pushed him out of the way.

"What the hell Urameshi? I was trying to help you!" Kuwabara powered up his spirit sword, but Yusuke once again yelled at him to stop.

"You don't understand idiot! I deserve this for... what I did to Kurama." Yusuke didn't dodge as Hiei was about to slash him the spirit detective to pieces until Kuwabara once again interrupted their fight.

"But I know where Kurama is! He's at my house, and I've been trying to tell you that the whole time!"

Both demons stopped and stared at him. Until Kuwabara was nearly knocked down by a furious Hiei, he tried to catch his balance but ended up tripping himself instead.

"Where is he?" The fire demon's voice wasn't merciful as he glared at Kuwabara, "And why is he in _your_ house? You're not like that bastard are you?"

Kuwabara figured he meant Yusuke, but he was still confused and in the dark about what had caused Yusuke and Hiei to fight in the first place. But from the way this conversation was going, he knew it had something to do with Kurama and something that had happened between the demon fox and spirit detective.

He didn't get an explanation or any time to explain to Hiei why Kurama had been at his house, before the fire demon disappeared from his sight. Kuwabara assumed he was heading toward his house, and Kuwabara hoped his sister had enough sense not to get in Hiei's way when he was in that type of mood.

"What's going on? Why's Hiei upset, and why isn't Kurama sleeping in his own bed?" Kuwabara asked as Yusuke helped him up.

"Let me explain later, but for now I'll just warn you to stay away from Hiei and not get in his way. What I did has really ticked him off, and I'm sure the last thing he really wants to deal with is even more searching." Yusuke ran a hand through his hair, and Kuwabara decided not to pry into the subject anymore. Not when it was obviously distressing his best friend this much.

"Fine, we better head over to my house then."

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Hiei was already at Kuwabara's house, and had already invited himself inside. He immediately checked all over the house for Kurama, but didn't find anything but the fox's scent on Kuwabara's bed. Hiei knew Kuwabara hadn't done anything to hurt Kurama, but obviously the idiot hadn't mentioned that Kurama had already left. But Hiei also knew Kurama most likely would have left without even telling anyone, that was just how the fox was.

Shizuru watched him from the doorway of Kuwabara's room, and boldly spoke to the angry demon. "He must've left just a few minutes ago, because he was asleep last time I had checked and that was right when Kuwabara got home."

"Did he say where he was going?" Hiei controlled himself and did not allow himself to lose his temper with Kuwabara's sister.

"No... I don't even know why he came here or when he woke up and left. I didn't question him since I found him in such a terrible condition." She tied her brunette hair into a loose ponytail and stepped closer to Hiei. "Do you want me to help look for him?"

"No," Hiei closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "I will find him on my own, and after that I will make Yusuke pay."

Hiei disappeared from the house, and landed on a nearby house outside. His black usually stood out quite a bit against the normal blue sky, but today the sky seemed to reflect the demon's shitty mood. All of the clouds looked almost black themselves, but there didn't seem to be any trace of rain.

Kurama had left no trace of where he was going, and Hiei was sure he'd be even more careful after almost getting caught because of Kuwabara. And now that he had a few extra hours of sleep, the fox would be more alert than he had been earlier. Hiei's whole day seemed to just keep getting worse and worse, at this rate he'd probably end up going insane from this stupid pursuit.

The fire demon decided to go to Makai to search for his companion, because surely Kurama wouldn't stay in Ningenkai after nearly getting discovered. Then finally Hiei would get some answers of why Kurama had fled from him in the first place. Was it because he was ashamed of it? Or was it because there was something else going on?

He didn't think it would be what had happened yesterday, but it seemed that Kurama would run away from any type of relationship now. Maybe it had been because of what happened between Yukon and Yomi in his past life, but there was no doubt that the fox was reluctant to go any farther than friends with him.

Hiei jumped over a few more of the houses, heading out toward the portal he hoped was still active. It felt weird knowing that he could finally go back to Makai without chasing someone or having to worry about getting chased by anyone from Spirit World. The demon didn't slow down until he was only a few feet away from the portal, and then stopped when he realized he smelled a familiar scent.

Kurama had only been there a few minutes earlier, which meant Hiei might just be able to catch up to the fox. That was, unless this was some sort of trick. The fox wasn't only an expert at thievery, but at trickery as well when he needed to be. Hiei assumed that this must've been one of the times he felt it was necessary to set up something like this.

Then the one person who never failed to piss Hiei off once again came running up, pointlessly yelling at him to slow down. Even if the oaf had almost helped him in finding Kurama, the fire demon would never admit or say thanks.

"What are you doing?" Hiei's eyes narrowed at Yusuke, but they went back to Kuwabara. "Haven't you two already helped enough?"

"Don't be so stubborn! We're just trying to help!" Kuwabara still couldn't understand why there was so much tension between the three of them, when just yesterday the four of them had met up for a sort of 'reunion'. "Kurama's our friend too, and we want to help look for him."

"Once again, you're being an idiot. Haven't you realized yet what happened to Kurama in the first place to make him leave? Or is Yusuke really not going to confess for what he did?"

Kuwabara could've sworn that between Yusuke and Hiei, he was going to be driven completely insane how there were so many secrets all of a sudden that he wasn't in on. But the fire demon left before he had to start on his part of the explanation of what was going on; Kuwabara didn't allow Yusuke to leave though. He _was_ going to find out what was happening, if it killed him or somebody else.

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Kurama sighed as he looked at the great demon city, it almost resembled a city from Ningenkai but it looked a little less welcoming. He knew Hiei must be on his trail now, but he still had a good head start from everyone. Not to mention he had connections with the former ruler of this region, and even though Yomi didn't have as much power, he still had enough to keep anyone he didn't want out of the city.

It didn't take the fox demon long to reach the gates of the city, but was stopped by a new feature Yomi had put in. Guards and not just one or two, there were several of them strewn across the top of the tall gate.

"How has a human made it this far into Makai?" One of the guards asked, assuming Kurama's species merely by his looks.

"I'm here to see Yomi, and I don't feel like waiting all day to get inside." Kurama almost felt as impatient as Hiei sometimes got, and when the few guards that had noticed him began to laugh, he decided not to wait around any longer. He quickly jumped the height of the gate, and brought out his rose whip.

It didn't take much to cut the demons into pieces, but Kurama also knew that the odds were against him because of the sheer number of those lower level guards. He did know his way to the castle, but he had just hoped he wouldn't cause such an uproar getting into the city; then again everything he hoped lately seemed to go completely wrong.

There were crowds of demons among the streets; apparently he had entered the gate closest to the market section of the city and the farthest from Yomi's residence. Yet the fox knew this crowd would only give him the advantage of blending in, and the chaos of so many guards crashing in behind him would send everyone into a panic. Once again giving him an advantage since the guards would be so busy just trying to make their way in his general direction.

Kurama threw his rose whip aside, and took out a few more seeds that he threw to the side as well; those extra plants would make certain that he had enough time to make it to the castle.

"Hiei was right... it is kind of amusing to watch demons in such a panicked state. Called fearsome creatures and monsters by humans and supposedly superior, and yet here they are, acting exactly like humans would in this situation."

As he grew nearer to the castle he noticed that Shura was waiting by the front gate. Yomi apparently walked up to the gate as well and smiled pleasantly, as if his whole city wasn't in pandemonium.

"You make quite an entrance Kurama."

"I did learn from a couple of the masters of the art." Yomi opened the gate and allowed Kurama in.

The blind demon then ordered his 'son' off to tell the guards to cease their search. The boy immediately obeyed, but seemed somewhat reluctant to leave his father's side.

"Would you like to rest for a while?"

Kurama was still always slightly uneasy around Yomi, because the guilt for what he did so long ago always tore him up inside. Yet the one things Yomi was completely blind off, was that guilt and the truth that it had been Kurama himself who had ordered the attacker to _hurt_ him.

"Yes," Kurama still couldn't tell him, even now when he had come to the aid of the blind demon. He still couldn't tell him.

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**Hope chapter was good. I updated on time (for once), and as I said for all you readers I am going to update _weekly. _Only because I want to make sure that it's a) decent quality b) of decent length and c) it's not totally random. I still hope that you guys enjoyed this fic, and chapter 4 will be coming up soon.**

**Please R & R !**

**Shari Maxwell**


	4. Chapter 4

"You did what?!"

Yusuke could've sworn that if Kuwabara yelled any louder that all of Japan would here their conversation. The spirit detective hated the fact that he had to admit that he had raped one of his closest friends to the guy who was actually his boyfriend. Not many people would've believed Yusuke if he had ever told anyone about him and Kuwabara, since everybody still assumed that he and Keiko were an item.

"Will you keep your voice down? I _don't_ want the whole fucking world to hear what I did to him!" Yusuke felt his temper flare up, but it wasn't just because of Kuwabara yelling it was at himself as well. "The last thing I need right now is _you_ pissing me off as well."

Kuwabara didn't say anything back, but he looked toward the portal to Makai where Hiei was walking towards. He knew that Yusuke wasn't in the best of moods right then, but he also knew that standing around arguing and yelling at each other wouldn't help them find Kurama any faster.

"Forget about it for now... we have to find Kurama first and once we do you can show your regret about what happened."

Kuwabara's words surprised both the spirit detective and fire demon as he went through the demon portal first. Then Hiei followed, and Yusuke came last. There was something about heading into the demon world that made Yusuke uncomfortable, but he quickly figured out what it was.

He wasn't sure whether his demon self would emerge at any time and attack his two friends, but Yusuke tried not to think pessimistically. And Kuwabara was right anyway, the first thing they needed to do was finding Kurama and not worry about themselves.

"Makai's weather seems a lot darker than I remember it being last time." Kuwabara noted, but Yusuke and Hiei didn't pay his statement any heed.

They were looking over at the metropolis of Makai, and both demons knew where Kurama had gone. The fox had known it would be difficult for them to both get into the city because of the events during the Makai tournament, but Yusuke and Hiei weren't ready to give in so easily either.

"You fools hurry up, we might be able to sneak into the city." Neither of the other two questioned Hiei's knowledge of a secret passage into the city, but they also knew most of Hiei's plans might require some fighting.

"Where is this place that we can sneak in?" Yusuke asked.

"Kurama had mentioned a hole in the wall before. He covered it with plants, and since it's near the forest it just looks like the walls covered in some ivy." Hiei began to head towards the southern wall, but Yusuke sensed something familiar which made him stop.

He soon realized what it was, and it happened to be Yomi himself. The blind demon was almost hidden in the shadow of the great gate, but he had purposefully made his presence acknowledgeable. Yomi stepped out to greet them and he had a calm smile, but it still looked like they were unwelcome to Yusuke.

"That's the guy you fought, right?" Kuwabara tried to be discreet, but all of Yomi's ears easily picked up the whispering.

"Indeed I am Kuwabara."

Kuwabara had the feeling that if the demon had working eyes, that he would surely be staring down Yusuke. Hiei stepped directly in front of Yomi and glared at the taller demon.

"Has Kurama come here?"

"I'm sure Kurama really has no intention of seeing you, or wanting to see any of you for that matter. Especially with friends who do things like _that_ to him." Yomi walked around Hiei and toward the spirit detective. "He came to me just so you all wouldn't come and ruin his life any more than you already have."

"Let us see Kurama now or I'll kill you." Hiei knew that during normal circumstances he probably wouldn't have ever been able to beat Yomi, but his pent up anger and frustration was beginning to get the best of him.

"I don't find that very threatening coming from you," the blind demon wasn't smiling anymore as he readied himself for a fight.

Hiei began to unsheathe his sword, but he was stopped as the very person they were looking for came out as well. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei all stopped and turned towards the redhead as he came out of the very whole they had been planning on sneaking in through.

"Yomi that was going too far." Kurama didn't look over at Yusuke or any of his friends; the only person he really looked directly at was Yomi. "Please, I need to talk to them in private. Can we talk in your castle?"

Yomi backed down and walked towards the fox demon. "If you really wish to speak to these people, I have no right to stop you."

The king of the greatest demon city in Makai led them inside towards his own castle. The blind demon didn't understand Kurama's sudden change of heart, but he didn't question what the redhead was planning.

Yet Hiei had grown tired of Kurama's avoiding the three of them, and the fire demon refused to leave the fox's side. His crimson eyes kept giving him warning glares that if he tried to run now, he would _not_ get away again. Kurama showed no signs that he noticed what Hiei was doing, but he really did.

It wasn't long before they reached the castle gates they were immediately let in. Yomi then left their group, and trusted Kurama would know his way around by now. The fox did, but he wasn't so appreciative of the fact that he would have to face the three of his friends on his own.

Then again, they were his friends and surely they could at least try to understand why he had acted so recklessly. Then again, with the death glares Hiei kept giving him, Kurama wasn't so sure anymore.

---------------

The four of them were allowed to speak privately in a large cushiony room, and Hiei didn't waste any time beginning their conversation. He didn't even bother to sit down, then again Kurama could never recall a time where Hiei had really sat down in a room like this to talk. The fire demon hardly even sat down whenever he had visited Kurama's room.

"Why the hell did you run away?" Hiei didn't quite get in Kurama's face, but all of them knew that wouldn't last long. "Why didn't you just tell me that bastard had raped you?"

Kurama was silent for a moment, Yusuke wasn't sure if he was contemplating an answer or just trying really hard to avoid his eyes. "Hiei it's kind of shameful and embarrassing to a person like me... to be so easily overpowered it isn't easy to admit. And I _did_ want to tell you, but I also just needed some space which you refused to give me."

"Don't go blaming this whole situation on me fox."

"I wasn't trying to." It seemed that Kurama was getting fed up with Hiei's attitude, but the fox continued to keep calm. "I would really prefer forgetting about all of this... and yes I know I did make a bigger deal out of it than necessary, but I guess I was just desperate for some time away from everyone."

Kuwabara gave Yusuke a look, and the spirit detective knew exactly what it meant. He couldn't continue letting his two friends fight when it was his fault from the very start, or at least his demon side was at fault.

Before the two demons were able to start at their arguing again, Yusuke interrupted. "Kurama, I'm really sorry for what I did... letting my demon side take control was my fault and no excuse for what happened."

"You had better be fucking sorry!" Hiei really lost his temper at this, and was about to lunge at Yusuke to begin another fight when he was stopped by a plant. "Let me go Kurama! Everything started with this fucker and he deserves to be killed!"

"Stop trying to control my life, I'm angry at Yusuke too but he's my friend and I can forgive him with time."

Kurama almost felt like he was lying when he said that, but then he knew it was probably Youko's thoughts taunting him by saying he was lying. Then again, the redhead had never considered himself completely innocent. Just because he had thoughts that he knew nobody would suspect of him, but they were always lurking in his mind.

"I think we can resolve everything else later, but for now I'm exhausted. If you want I can show you to some extra rooms." Kurama smiled as pleasantly as he could manage, but he knew it wouldn't fool Hiei.

"If you want to Kurama..." Kuwabara looked uncomfortable as he stood up and followed everyone out of the room. "So where are you staying anyway?"

"Just down the hall from you guys," Kurama was met by Yomi at the end of the hall. The blind demon did not look pleased at all having extra guests, but he did not voice the inconvenience.

"Are they staying tonight as well?"

"Just for tonight, and by tomorrow we'll make sure to be gone. Thank you for your hospitality, and I promise I'll pay you back somehow." It left a lot open for his 'repayment', but Kurama knew Yomi had some respect for him not to ask something too outrageous.

Yomi left the four of them to once again go to their rooms, but Hiei didn't really care where they were going the only thing he was gonna do was watch Yusuke. The fire demon didn't know what to expect of the spirit detective, but he didn't actually expect Yusuke to try anything with him and Kuwabara along with Yomi nearby.

"You better keep your filthy hands to yourself human," Hiei said quiet enough so that Kurama couldn't hear him.

Usually Yusuke wouldn't be concerned with threats, but Hiei wasn't any ordinary demon and it was obvious that Kurama was more than a friend to him. Yet he wasn't planning on crossing a boundary like that anytime soon, or ever again hopefully.

---------------

Shura watched them from around the corner, he had never admitted this to his father but he had always found Kurama attractive. It was quite a long shot because of their age differences, but Shura was like any normal child when it came to his first 'love'.

The small demon had listened in on their conversation, and had been shocked when he had heard what Raizen's son had done. And he was sure his father would be very interested to hear about this news as well.

---------------

**Hope this update was another great chapter! I'd love any feedback you guys will give me, concrit is appreciated but please no flaming. (not that any of you have yet) Hope you all enjoyed! And next Friday will come the next chapter!**

**Please R & R !**

**Shari Maxwell**


	5. Chapter 5

Shura had felt stupid for hurrying to tell his father what he thought would be news, but as it turned out Yomi had found out about Yusuke and Kurama's _mishap_. The blind demon looked like he was thinking hard about what he should do, if Yusuke wasn't one of Kurama's closest friends Yomi would've just killed the boy on the spot.

Their friendship or what was left of it, was making things complicated for Yomi to determine what to do about it. The fox would surely hate him unless he got his revenge on Raizen's son in a very secretive and drawn-out manner. Meaning it could take weeks to achieve his ultimate goal in making Yusuke pay, but the spirit detective would still pay the price.

"Shura, come here for a second. I've got a very important job for you to do."

---

They each had the choice of getting their own separate rooms, or staying together. Kuwabara and Yusuke had decided to stay together, and Kurama had agreed with Hiei that they should stat together as well. The fox hadn't been too eager at first, but he knew it would take Hiei a while before being able to fully trust Yusuke again if he ever did.

Kurama found it slightly funny that even when Hiei was in the room he would be using for the night, the fire demon still didn't want to sit. The only place Hiei had ever seemed truly comfortable sitting was on a tree limb, and it mystified the fox.

"How come you never want to sit down Hiei?" Kurama hadn't really intended on saying it out loud, but his curiousity was going to end up driving him insane.

Hiei glared at him for a moment before answering. "I just don't, I never know when I'll have to leave anyway so why bother getting comfortable?"

Kurama felt like he should've expected that sort of answer out of Hiei. It sounded like a typical thing he would say, and yet it had taken the redhead completely by surprise that the fire demon had answered at all. He sat for a while and pondered the answer, and he found it was actually a decent reason not to sit.

"But I've already made arrangements for you to stay the _whole_ night, which means you won't be going anywhere soon. So you can sit now, can't you?" Kurama watched as Hiei walked over to the large windowsill and sat down on it. "Don't you feel a little better after standing all day?"

"No, why does it matter whether I like to sit or not anyway?"

"I guess it doesn't, but it makes me feel a little nervous. That's all."

"Kurama... do you really trust Yusuke still? Can you _really_ forgive him? After what he did to you, I'm sure it wouldn't surprise anyone if you hated him for the rest of your life." Hiei looked directly into Kurama's emerald eyes with his own crimson ones. He wasn't going to allow Kurama to end their conversation again as quickly as he had earlier.

"Hiei... I told you with time I can forgive him, and I meant it." Hiei hated being able to hear the uncertainty and deception so clearly.

"How was he able to rape you anyway? I _know_ you're stronger than to just allow yourself to be taken advantage of, and could've easily killed him by summoning just one plant."

This time Kurama looked away, "I didn't want to accidentally kill him. I wouldn't have been able to control the plant to just injure slightly."

"That's pathetic..." Hiei couldn't believe the fox who would even kill his own partners once wouldn't even summon a plant for fear of hurting some like Yusuke.

"I know Hiei... I've told myself that a million times already... and I don't need you to remind me."

---

Kuwabara and Yusuke sat on opposite sides of the room, and unlike Hiei and Kurama they had yet to even say one word to each other. Now that Kuwabara had found out about Yusuke raping Kurama, he had began to wonder if their relationship had been nothing more than a replacement for the relationship he clearly desired to have with Kurama.

"Yusuke, what kind of feelings do you have for Kurama?" The question seemed to bring Yusuke out of a daze, but the spirit detective didn't look like he would really like to answer the question.

Yet, he sighed and looked directly at Kuwabara, "The truth is... I always had a sort fascination with Kurama. I couldn't really consider it more than a lustful desire honestly... and I'm ashamed of it Kuwabara. My love for you is _real_ while Kurama is only... an infatuation at most."

Kuwabara didn't doubt that these were Yusuke's true feelings, but he still wasn't able to shake the sensation of deceit and lies controlling their relationship. He didn't say anything to the spirit detective as he stared at the floor. Kuwabara just got up and went to sit on the bed.

The room's silence was deafening to them both, and it remained stayed like this for a few more excruciating moments before the it was broken by Yusuke getting up. He walked over to where Kuwabara was sitting and didn't say anything as he sat down next to him.

"I know this might be asking for too much... but please forgive me Kuwabara. I won't try to pin the blame on my 'demon side', because I know if I had really tried it would never have happened. But still..."

Kuwabara hated these moments more than anything else whenever Yusuke was so vulnerable, it almost did seem to the Urameshi he knew when they were both still just a couple of punks.

"Yusuke, I can forgive you. I love you too much to push you away now..." Kuwabara watched Yusuke's reaction, and noticed the spirit detective was happy but he was suppressing it because of his guilt. "But the people you should worry about getting forgiveness from are Kurama and Hiei right now."

"Thanks Kuwabara..." Yusuke pressed his lips to Kuwabara's and allowed himself to feel happy for this brief second.

---

The night sky in Makai seemed more of a dark shade of purple than actual black, at least that's what Kurama had always thought. It seemed so much more romantic than the pitch black night sky back in Ningenkai. The stars were shone even more brilliantly here than in Ningenkai because of all the city lights around the world, but he could still see the stars better in Makai's huge city than back home.

The redhead had watched Hiei as he pretended to sleep, the fire demon didn't even look the least bit tired. But just as Hiei always did everything with incredible speed, he fell asleep so suddenly that Kurama hadn't even realized that he had been asleep.

The fox demon quietly arose from his bed, even being the light sleeper Hiei was the demon didn't hear Kurama. The redhead managed to sneak out of the room and head towards Yomi's meeting room. He wasn't positive where the blind demon would be at this hour, but he knew that he wouldn't be far from that room.

Kurama wandered down the large empty hall until he came to the only room he really knew on that side of the castle. As he opened the door the room was empty, he hadn't really expected Yomi to be there waiting for him, but now that the demon would be able to know he was there Yomi would come to him.

It was obvious that the blind demon had 'overheard' what they were talking about earlier, and Kurama also knew that Yomi wouldn't be able to resist talking to him in private about this.

"Aren't you just so grateful to me? I'm allowing you and your _companions_ to stay the night here, when you haven't even told me everything about what's going on." Yomi had always reminded Kurama of all of the under-handed people who easily twisted people's words around to meet their needs in Ningenkai. That was one similarity that even a demon himself could admit or admit about other demons.

The conversation wasn't going to end up going in a direction that favored the redhead if he didn't say something soon. He pulled out a chair for himself and sat down, lacing his fingers together as he often did when concentrating.

"Yomi, it's true I have not been completely honest with you, but what person demon or human would want to say such a thing? To acknowledge that something so personal was so easily taken advantage of?"

He seemed to be falling for Kurama's intricately laid trap, which had now turned to the fox's favor. It would be simple to find out what Yomi had planned as his revenge on Yusuke. Kurama knew Yomi better than the blind demon truly knew, and _that_ was how he had already known the former demon king had been plotting revenge.

"That's a very good point Kurama, though I see you're more comfortable speaking with the person who raped you than anyone else." Yomi sat down beside the fox and turn the face him, smiling the blind demon copied Kurama's pose. "That and that _lovely_ little fire demon who is so fond of you."

He knew Yomi was fishing for some sort of response or reaction that would confirm his suspicions of a relationship. Yet Kurama how to avoid this, and gave a short little reply that threw the other demon off track.

"Hiei is fond of _me_, not the other way around Yomi." Kurama gave Yomi a smirk even knowing he couldn't really see it. "But I do have a proposal to make with you... because there is something I want for what he did to me."

"And what is that my old friend?"

"What else could I desire for Yusuke? Revenge, of course!" Kurama was trying to sound as convincing as possible, and it appeared to be working. "So please tell me, you must have come up with a plan already!"

"Oh I certainly have dear fox, and there is no possible opening for failure." Yomi then stood up and began to head for the exit. "Unfortunately I can't tell you my plans, Kurama. Because you have been known to be a traitor at times, and this time I can't afford to be betrayed."

Kurama hoped Yomi hadn't found out about his incident those many years ago, and this caused Kurama to fish for an answer. "So... you have made a plan to get revenge for me, and yet you won't tell it to me?"

"Exactly, because I do remember a time not too long ago that you betrayed me... such as earlier this afternoon in fact. For now I must insist you get some rest, because many things are going to happen in this near future." Without another word, Yomi left Kurama to wonder what he meant.

---

**Hey guys, sorry I updated kinda late today. Just had a _long_ day that I really wish I hadn't woken up to deal with. wishes for a day she could sleep in**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed!**

**Please R & R !**

**Shari Maxwell**


	6. Chapter 6

The younger version of Yomi didn't understand exactly why he was doing this, but his father had told him to put this thing on Yusuke so he would. The object was supposed to just be dropped into his mouth, and his father said that would be all he really had to do. The only hard part about what Shura had to do, was to sneak in without waking up Yusuke or Kuwabara.

One thing that Shura had not anticipated though, was seeing something he _really_ shouldn't have. It hadn't been intended at all, but somehow when Shura had gotten to Yusuke's room he knew he couldn't go in. He could hear some kind of noises from the other side of the door, which almost sounded like the two guys were wrestling. Shura had a vague idea of what might've been going on, but he truly didn't know exactly what it was.

Naive in the area of sex, Shura silently opened the door to slip in. Since it was so late now, there was no light in the castle except for what moonlight entered through the windows. So neither Yusuke nor Kuwabara noticed anything when the door had opened just enough for Shura's small body to slip in. He hid himself in the shadow created by the faint moonlight.

That was when the boy had begun to realized, that the two of them were not _wrestling_ but they were in the middle of something a lot more intimate that he was now stuck watching. Shura knew he could close his eyes, but he also knew they wouldn't stay shut for long. He would become curious of the soft moans one of them would emit, or when the silence seemed to stretch too long he would have to make sure they hadn't discovered him.

This prevented him from keeping his somewhat innocent mind from learning of these things the hard way. Though Yomi would've told him eventually, it seemed that a crash course would be Shura's way of learning about sex.

He tried his best not to look or listen for that matter, but it was nearly impossible, and soon enough his mind was tainted by what he was seeing. The two of them had finally stopped after what felt to be an eternity, and they soon fell asleep. That was when Shura took his chance, he crept up to the two beds that had been pushed together, and went to the side he thought Yusuke was on.

Shura then dropped the small item into the victim's mouth, but couldn't really bear to look the boy in the face. After all, after what he had been forced to sit through... he didn't know if he would be able to look either of those two in the face for a long time.

---

Hiei had aroused from his sleep and saw that Kurama was still asleep, but he wasn't fooled by the redhead. He knew that Kurama had left to go do something, and Hiei also knew the redhead probably wouldn't tell him about it anytime soon. Yet the fire demon had a feeling that whatever Kurama was hiding was just gonna end up pissing him off once he found out.

Nevertheless, Hiei got up and walked over to the fox's bed. He stopped at the side of the bed, and watched as Kurama slept peacefully. If Hiei didn't know better, he would've thought the redhead to be an innocent being but the fire demon knew better than to let looks deceive him. Kurama was far from being innocent, but Hiei couldn't say he was any closer than the fox.

If Yusuke hadn't raped Kurama, Hiei's opinion of him and Kuwabara would have stayed that they were the two most naive to a demon's true nature. But Yusuke had slowly started to emerge from the state of mind where the spirit detective now not only knew a demon's true nature, but he was also becoming one of those demons that could hide their nature.

Kuwabara still remains in a state of mind that can't even comprehend some of the things a demon would do to his '_family_' or '_friends_'. But humans could be just as bad, as Hiei had learned when that moron had tried to kidnap his little sister Yukina or when they had learned heard from Sensui about how he had found many humans who would torture demons for fun.

Yet Kuwabara still seemed reluctant to believe what Yusuke had done to Kurama, even when the spirit detective himself had confessed it. It was understandable in a way, Kuwabara had known Yusuke for a few years now and Hiei knew it would be hard to imagine someone like Yusuke doing such a thing. But no matter how terrible the truth was, the fire demon also knew that he had to get Kuwabara to realize what it is.

Kurama suddenly began to stir, as his emerald eyes blinked wearily at Hiei standing over him. The fox used one arm to help him sit up, and gave Hiei a tiny smile which showed some confusion about what exactly the fire demon had been doing. Neither of the demons spoke to each other, but Hiei could see there was something that Kurama was hiding.

"You left the room," Hiei didn't state it as a question, but more of making sure Kurama knew there was no way to lie to him.

"Yes, I didn't want to wake you up because I felt restless." Kurama gave another smile, as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed to where one leg was on either side of Hiei. "You're always too suspicious of everything Hiei, in Ningenkai we call people like you paranoid."

Hiei knew that Kurama was teasing him, but he honestly wasn't in the mood to be insulted so openly. The fire demon frowned before stepping a little closer to Kurama, which now put him between the fox's legs and so close that there really wasn't a way to get any closer unless he got on Kurama. Which had been something he had been hoping for just a few days ago, but now Hiei couldn't really bring himself to think about that anymore since he knew all he could see now was Yusuke and Kurama.

"What do you know fox?" Hiei snapped, but then felt Kurama's arms slip around him and pull him in. "What the hell are you doing?!"

But then Hiei stopped as he felt something wet on his neck, and knew immediately what it was. He didn't want to look, well it was more like he knew he couldn't stand to see the sight of what Kurama was doing. The small demon had always known Kurama to be the type who never looked weak in front of anyone if he could help it, but now in this moment that there was no way to conceal his frailty... It was too much to handle, so he stayed their in that embrace.

It only took a minute for the fox to compose himself again, and he let go of Hiei. His emerald eyes reflected something that was hard for Hiei to describe. It was like he was depressed, but at the same time this depression had turned into some unidentifiable emotion of anger and joy. There was something that made him uneasy as he saw these things all happening in Kurama's eyes, but then all at once they stopped.

"I'm sorry Hiei, I guess tonight just isn't a good night to be talking. I think I'll go ahead and go to sleep and try to get some rest before we have to leave in the morning." Kurama then maneuvered his legs from around Hiei to where he could lie back down on his bed. "Good night Hiei."

Hiei couldn't think of a way to retort, his words felt like they were stuck in his throat to the point it would explode, but then he managed to slip out a simple 'good night'. Whatever had happened to Kurama or whatever he had been doing had certainly changed the fox in many ways.

Hiei then felt an exhaustion suddenly overwhelm him, and he realized that it was because of how little sleep he had gotten recently. This feeling gave him the ability to give up his pride of not having to do as regular humans do and get more than four hours of sleep. But tonight he felt like going to sleep, and just sleeping for about four days.

---

**Sorry that this chapter was a lot shorter than the usual chapters. And I'm also sorry for updating so late, but I managed to do it before midnight so I made the deadline! Also, I guess I kinda forgot about Kurama telling Yomi about what had happened... (needs to rewatch the series a couple of times) but for this story I'm going to leave it that he didn't confess to Yomi. Sorry for the confusion/and my idiocy. Hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter!**

**Please R & R !**

**Shari Maxwell**


	7. Chapter 7

The four of them woke up the next morning to skies that seemed to give such an ominous warning that few demons dared to walk out on that day. There was something that made would make any living creature tremble, and yet the three teens and one fire demon were already out and heading towards the portal to Ningenkai. They had set out later than any of them had truly planned, but Yomi didn't really seem to be willing to have them there any longer so they had no choice.

They arrived at the portal hidden in the same cave that connected them to the other world, and none of them wasted time leaving Makai as its menacing sky loomed over them. Yusuke was the first to emerge on the other side and it was almost immediately he noticed something was wrong. There was a complete silence that could've never been so close to Yusuke's city.

Once Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara had also arrived in Ningenkai they also noticed that something was _off_ right away. For a brief moment none of them spoke just to see if there would be some type of noise somewhere, but there wasn't anything.

"Why's it so quiet?" Yusuke started going towards the city, and the others followed.

"I think it's an improvement from all the commotion that's usually going on in this pathetic world." Hiei was the last in the group as he enjoyed the solitude that he had never experienced in the human world before.

"_I_ think it's kind of eerie..." Kuwabara rubbed his arms unconsciously as they waded through more underbrush of the forest.

It didn't take them very long to come to the city and find it completely deserted, even as they walked down one of the streets that is _always_ busy, there wasn't a soul in sight. Hiei began to get a bad feeling as they were getting close to Kuwabara's house, and he knew the big guy was going to start a scene.

"Hey Shizuru! Are you home?" Kuwabara barged into his own home and began looking around for his older sister, and he found her up in her room asleep. "Shizuru, wake up! What the hell is going on with everyone?"

Kurama didn't know for sure, but he just had the feeling it wouldn't be so easy to wake her up. He wasn't thinking of her as a deep sleeper or dead, but the redhead just had a feeling Kuwabara wasn't going to wake her up any time soon by just shaking her.

"Kuwabara, it might be best if you just stop... I don't think she'll be waking up any time soon." Kurama put his hand on his friend's shoulder, but Kuwabara just looked pissed as he turned to face the fox.

"Are you saying she's dead?! Shizuru would never just die on me like that!"

"That's not what he's saying you dumbass, there's obviously something going on with _all _the humans in this city. Most likely they're under some type of curse or something." Hiei was somewhat surprised himself at the fact that Kurama wasn't freaking out over his mother yet, but then again the redhead wasn't usually that much of an extrovert with his feelings. "We just have to figure out what the hell happened here while we were gone and kill whoever did it."

"Yes, but the hard part is that if everyone is asleep like we're assuming... how are we going to find out what happened?" Kurama began to head downstairs as he contemplated what exactly they could do about this whole disaster. "I think I'll go make my own family comfortable for their sleep and then we can meet later to figure out what to do."

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei all agreed with Kurama's plan, but the fox wasn't entirely sure he could handle the sight of his family just lying there unconscious knowing that there may be a chance they would never wake up. Yet he also knew that Yusuke and Kuwabara were feeling the exact same way right now, and if this was happening all over the world there was a chance Hiei would soon be feeling it as well if Yukina had fallen into this mysterious slumber.

So the four of them separated, one staying in his home, the other two heading to _their_ homes, and the last one going to search for his sister.

---

Yusuke had immediately gone to check on his mother, and he found her asleep in the middle of the kitchen. So the spirit detective had gently carried his mother to her bed and then headed over to Keiko's home. They were just about as close as family, and he couldn't stand the thought if they were left just lying wherever. He found Keiko's parents in their restaurant, whenever this incident had happened it had apparently occurred in the middle of work hours for the two as they were asleep behind the counter.

The teen figured that Keiko would probably be at the school if her parents had been working at the time, and headed over there quickly. Sure enough he found Keiko in their classroom asleep on her desk. All the other students were in the same condition, but Yusuke honestly couldn't care less about any of them at the moment. They had never exactly treated him that great, so why should he care where they slept?

Yusuke tried to ignore all of the motionless forms, but he knew it would only earn him a scolding in the end by someone if he didn't help the kids. The spirit detective wasn't stupid enough to go dragging people to their houses, but he did try to make them as comfortable as possible in the positions they were in.

He then put Keiko in the piggy-back position on his back and began to carry her home. Yusuke almost felt like this was what would happen at the end of the world. Everyone would fall asleep and never wake up as the planet slowly died, but the only thing he hoped was that he wouldn't be the only person still alive while everybody else slept.

He figured with the way his life was going right then, that's what would probably end up happening anyway.

---

Kurama had started by fixing his family up in their own beds, and then had sat down and turned on the TV to see if the whole world was being affected by this. As it turned out, all he seemed to get were either a bunch of people asleep in a live broadcast or just screens claiming the station was having 'technical difficulties'.

The redhead then attempted to find some station still working on the radio, but all the stations were silent as he went through every single one. As if the situation hadn't been bad enough, it was now obvious the whole world was experiencing this horrible fiasco.

"The question now is what to do..." Kurama pondered as he sat in the creepy silence of his usually lively kitchen. There was something so dismal knowing the fact that not even his mother would be able to greet him or worry over him, and the fact that his little step-brother wouldn't even be around to talk with him or ask for some type of help. "What are we supposed to do if we can't even figure out what the hell has caused all of this?!"

It was no longer possible to keep everything hidden from himself, the feeling of grief was overwhelming him quickly and there was nothing he could really do about it now. After all the time of never showing his loved ones the true pain he lived with every day of his life, and this had been the final thing to cause his own breakdown.

---

Hiei had gone straight to Genkai's temple, and not so much to his surprise did he find Yukina there and asleep. But when he stumbled upon the sleeping form of his sister, Genkai herself had been helping to make the girl more comfortable. The fire demon hadn't been at all astonished at the fact that Genkai hadn't been put into the 'sleep', after all she was the most powerful psychic in the world.

"So you should know what happened since you were here." Hiei wasted no time getting right to the point even though his own sister was on the floor unconscious.

Genkai knew that to show how he was worried about the ice maiden, whether he was outwardly expressing it or not. She moved her odd pink hair from in front of her face and led Hiei toward the walkway outside her small temple.

"To be honest I can't say I know _exactly _what happened, but I do know that it's a demon you've fought before. His obvious thirst for revenge against the four of you numbskulls has dragged all of the humans in Ningenkai into your problems once again." Genkai knew that there was no point in sugar-coating any of this for Hiei or the other three when the truth was so painfully obvious already. "The fact is that Yukina and everyone else may never wake up Hiei. So what do you all plan to do about it?"

"What else are we going to do? We're going to kill this bastard, and then we'll make sure everything is back to normal." Hiei knew it was unusual for him to say something that was defending humans, but his sister was the only true reason he would help everyone else.

"The only thing I really heard from Koenma is that this demon was one that you and Kurama must've known personally at one time. That's about all the information I was able to receive from his last message."

"That certainly narrows it down," the sarcasm was dripping from his voice, but Genkai didn't do anything to retaliate.

She knew that her small amount of information wouldn't really be that much help to them, since Hiei and Kurama had known quite a few demons personally. The small demon didn't hang around long after that, and Genkai knew that Hiei would go to tell Kurama what useless bit of info he'd heard.

"This is quite a mess you two have gotten humanity into... and for once it's really _not _that idiot boy's fault."

---

Kuwabara watched over his older sister as if _he _were the older sibling this time. Even though the guy didn't often show much intelligence (in Hiei's opinion anyway), Kuwabara had quite a bit of common sense that could lead him to take care of Shizuru without anyone's help at all.

He had already double-checked the whole house to make sure there was nothing that would end up burning it down or anything, and that's when he had noticed something strange.

Even though everyone was still asleep, it seemed like the world just felt so much more at peace, and that there was a certain balance restored. Kuwabara knew it was a terrible thing to think, but in a way whatever demon had done this had done Ningenkai a favor.

The only bad thing about what this demon had done was the fact that it had basically destroyed everyone's lives right when they were least expecting it. It was a terrible thing to do to innocent people, and yet if left alone the world might actually be able to restore itself.

But as he watched his sister sleeping, Kuwabara knew he had to save her. No matter what the cost would be, he would make sure that she would live out the rest of her life just like she deserved to.

---

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry I missed updating last week! I didn't even realize I hadn't written anything until it was already too late to update for that weekend. (I'm also sorry about updating late this week.) I'll make sure not to skip anymore weeks unless I'm dying or something, so don't worry!**

**Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. And if you guys didn't really, feel free to give me some criticism (not flames though). **

**Please R & R!**

**Shari Maxwell**


	8. Chapter 8

Hiei impatiently tapped on the glass of Kurama's window, but it took a while for the redhead to finally appear at the window. He didn't look surprised in the least by the fire demon visiting him, yet the fox didn't seem to be in the mood for company. It's not like they had a choice since it was now only the two of them and Yusuke and Kuwabara who were still awake to be around.

"Have you finished yet Kurama?" Hiei knew it was a little harsh to ask about something so important to the fox in such an uncaring manner, but the demon knew if he had tried to be sincere it would've been awkward for both of them.

"Yes, have you already found Yukina? Is she asleep as well?" Kurama's emerald eyes turned to meet Hiei's crimson ones. "Since I'm guessing you've found her, shall we go gather Yusuke and Kuwabara to begin making a plan?"

Hiei didn't really answer the fox, and it made Kurama hesitate for a second. It was a little sad to think that Hiei was still trying to win him over, even in when they're trying to figure out what caused such a disaster on Ningenkai.

"Are we going to leave anytime soon? Or do you plan on waiting another year or so to help these humans?" Hiei's sudden impatience seemed to throw the fox off guard once again. "Why are you being so quiet all of a sudden?"

"You're just acting unusual today, that's all..." Kurama suddenly figured out what seemed so wrong about Hiei. Not only were all of his mannerisms looking forced, but he wasn't even wearing the tear gem that he had worn everyday of his life. The fox said nothing though, instead of getting into a fight this imposter had a high chance of escaping from Kurama decided to wait until Yusuke and Kuwabara so he could have a winning hand at this game.

"Kurama, I think you're the one acting unusual." The imposter's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he looked up at Kurama's unreadable expression.

The fox gave a convincing smile as he bent towards Hiei, kissing him lightly on the ear and catching the mimic off guard. The redhead then stood back up again, beginning to head for the front door hoping that his unwanted companion would quickly follow.

Without the slightest hesitation, the fraud followed him and not a word was exchanged as they headed towards the place the four had planned on meeting up. As the two arrived, Yusuke and Kuwabara were already waiting for him. And unexpectedly the real Hiei was there as well.

"So you could tell? And yet you still led me here anyway?" The imposter didn't completely ignore the other three, but it seemed to mainly focus on Kurama. "I knew you were an expert at deception... but it seems so ironic how my whole mission was to deceive _you_... yet here I am with nothing but failure."

"It's true that you may have fooled me for a short while, long enough to find out whatever you had needed to, but you forgot a vital part of Hiei. And so it had indeed led to your failure." Kurama had a serene expression, but he wasted no time in releasing his plants to capture the imposter.

To be honest, this fraud knew that he was out of luck when it was now four against one he had no choice to submit. Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed more confused than anything, but Hiei just seemed pissed.

"You're saying that _he_ could've fooled you, fox?" Hiei's crimson narrowed as he glared at Kurama. "I could understand if those two morons were fooled, but _you_? I had always believed you were the real intellectual of our group, but it seems like that isn't true anymore."

Kurama didn't say anything; all he did was turn to where Yusuke and Kuwabara were attempting to hold down the fake Hiei and flicked a seed right next to them. The seed suddenly burst into a full-grown plant and anchored the struggling demon to the ground.

Yusuke and Kuwabara were panting after all the effort they had been using just to hold the demon down, but Kurama's plant had nearly given them both a heart attack. When they turned to see what had happened, the look on the redhead's face shut them both up before they asked what had happened. The two of them weren't eager to get near Kurama when he was in such a foul mood, but Hiei obviously wasn't intimidated.

"So who the hell is this asshole anyway?" Hiei could see that the imposter's illusion was starting to wear off and show it's true form.

The demon wasn't exactly what any of them had been expecting, but Kurama and Hiei did seem to recognize him. The demon had auburn hair longer than Kurama's that was tied back revealing his startling icy blue eyes. He had fox ears and a tail just as Kurama in his fox demon form.

"Damn you Kurama! Get these damn plants off of me!" Even though he was vulnerable, the fox didn't back down even a little bit as Kurama knelt next to him. "You and that rat Hiei have betrayed our kind! You don't deserve to be called demons any longer, you're just a couple of exiled disgraces!"

"He sure has a big mouth for being tied up, and at our mercy." Kuwabara looked down at the fox demon, and felt like he was almost looking at another Kurama even if they had some differences. "This guy is giving me the creep... is he related to Kurama or something?"

Yusuke didn't say anything as Kurama glared at Kuwabara, but he did go over to Hiei to ask if he had any idea who the demon was. "So who is this guy? And how does he know you two?"

"This guy was a kid that Youko had always looked after when he was young. One day Youko found the kid abandoned and nearly dead, so he took pity on the brat and helped him. Though it wasn't long after that when Kurama had to go to Ningenkai, so I'm sure this kid is bitter about it." Hiei rolled his eyes as the smaller fox demon struggled against his restraints.

"What are you doing out here Rai? Shouldn't you be back in Makai?" Kurama seemed calm about the whole encounter with his former companion. Yet he didn't have the plants release their grip on the younger fox, as he stood back up.

The younger fox glared up at Kurama with hateful icy eyes, as he continued to struggle against the plants detaining him. "I came here to kill you two since _he_ said you're no longer necessary around. I have the option of bringing you two alive and that could get me some better reward, but that seemed like too much trouble."

Hiei sneered at Rai before he glaring at Kurama with obvious scorn of the decision he had made long ago to keep Rai. Nobody had been expecting what happened next though, as Yusuke was suddenly tackled by some demon from behind who was obviously working with Rai. He was another young fox demon, but he was older than Rai and his features were a lot dark with his raven hair and even darker eyes.

"Wasn't exactly planning on this, but since Rai failed to kill you all... I'll just lend a helping hand." The fox demon had used some of his own plant powers to put Yusuke and Kuwabara to sleep. He sicced two more plants to keep Kurama and Hiei busy as he ripped apart the vines holding Rai to the ground. "Sorry I was late, but I was taking a nap when they told me you'd failed.

"Why the hell were you taking a nap when we're on such an important mission?!" Rai looked outraged at the taller fox.

"I had been so confidant you would take care of it without our help, that's all. But I guess you aren't quite ready yet to take on Kurama after what he did for you." He smiled down at Rai as the younger demon averted his eyes. "Come on, we've got to take these two back before they wake up. If that happens, it'll just be a whole lot more trouble than I'm in the mood for."

"You haven't put them into hibernation, Asch? I'm actually shocked you could restrain yourself from recklessly doing whatever impulse you wanted to act on." Rai looked over where Kurama and Hiei were just about finished destroying Asch's creation. "I swear that the next time I meet up with that Kurama... I will _kill_ him."

With that last conviction, Rai grabbed Kuwabara and Asch took Yusuke. The two foxes wasted no time in making their escape just as Kurama and Hiei destroyed the carnivorous plant. They weren't in the least bit surprised to find that their comrades were gone.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Hiei asked as he watched Kurama carefully think over their course of action.

The fox knew where they were going, for this demon had been out for his blood ever since he'd first robbed him, but the only question was how to get to the demon.

----

**I'm so sorry to all of you for my long delay of this chapter! I also am sorry for making it shorter than any of the others, but I wanted to get this to you before 2007! So I hope you all can forgive me... and I wish you all a Happy New Year!**

**Please R & R !**

**Shari Maxwell**


	9. Chapter 9

Asch and Rai only fled a few miles from where the ambush took place and then decided to rest for a bit so that hopefully they could make their trail disappear. The younger fox summoned a few vines to make sure their hostages didn't get any ideas if they woke up. Ash on the other hand was more concerned about Rai's wounds even though he denied being hurt in any physical way.

"Just let me take a look if you're so sure that you're not hurt," Asch continued to persuade the younger fox. He finally managed to get Rai to stand still and took advantage of the moment by pulling him close his taller body. "I know you're not physically hurt... but I know seeing that traitor again couldn't have been easy on you."

Rai looked away as if embarrassed and was thinking of an intelligent response when Ash decided to interrupt his train of thought with a kiss. It was demanding anything of Rai, but he knew Ash was expecting him to return the kiss instead of push him away.

"You know we have to hurry before they start catching up to us... and plus I don't think those two humans will be asleep for much longer." Rai left the older demon slightly angry, but he ignored Asch as he grabbed Yusuke and began to carry him off. "Hurry up Asch or else they really will find us!"

Asch grabbed Yusuke and began to follow Rai, but stopped as he thought he saw something missing from the human he was hauling around. Yet the fox didn't have time to inspect thoroughly as he knew Rai was right in his worrying that Kurama and Hiei would catch up quickly.

"I just wish the new generation would learn to just let go of their pasts," Ash spoke to no one in particular, but he could've sworn he'd felt Yusuke stir a bit when he said that. He just ignored it though and continued concentrating on trying not to leave the slightest trail in which Kurama or Hiei could detect.

Yusuke was trying hard not to let on that he was already semi-aware of what was happening, and had enough sense to carefully slip the ring Keiko had given him a few months ago off of his finger for his friends to find. Though he was still having trouble becoming completely coherent as he watched the ground blur beneath him.

All he could hope for now was that Kurama and Hiei would forgive him for what he had done. It seemed like that rainy night had happened so long ago, but it had only been a few days ago and Yusuke knew that he was probably going to get what he deserved for what he did to Kurama and how he cheated on Keiko those many times with his best friend.

He knew somewhere deep down this was what he had coming to him, but he still hoped that the two demons would forget and forgive.

----

Kurama hated the silence that had fallen over both him and Hiei, as neither one of them would speak. Usually they would either be discussing a plan on what to do, or else arguing on what they were planning to do. This awkward state never occurred between them before, and both knew it was because of the unresolved issue between Hiei, Kurama, and Yusuke. The two demons were beginning to increase their pace when something on the ground caught Hiei's eye. Kurama hadn't noticed it, but when he saw Hiei stop suddenly he looked where the fire demon was looking and saw the ring.

"At least we know he's aware now…" Kurama snatched the ring off the ground, "We'll just have to hope he'll leave us more clues without getting caught."

"One of them will notice eventually and that idiot will probably attempt something heroic in order to save himself and Kuwabara. Kuwabara will probably try the same thing when he wakes up, or else they'll end up arguing about who will be the hero. It's almost sad how predictable they are now." Hiei gave Kurama a quick glance before continuing their pursuit of the kidnapped teenagers.

----

Hours had passed by the time Asch and Rai stopped for the night, they knew there was now enough distance between them and their hostages' friends. By now both Yusuke and Kuwabara were wide awake, which meant they were bound and gagged by vines, since neither of the foxes had a tolerance for humans.

"What if the boss is just pissed off that we took hostages? I'm pretty sure he said to _eliminate _them... and they're just going to end up being burdens to everyone at base." Rai paced anxiously, occasionally glancing over at their 'burdens'. "Why the hell did we do that?"

"I don't know, why deal with four people when we only needed to deal with two?" Asch yawned loudly from his perch in the tree above Rai and the two humans. "But you know, maybe the boss will want a couple of play toys for when he's bored... or maybe we could just kill them right now."

Asch mentally commanded the vines to tighten their grip on Yusuke and Kuwabara, and watched them squirm beneath him. The older fox jumped down after allowing the vines to loosen their grip, he grabbed Rai from behind and nipped at the younger demon's ear. "I think you're worrying too much about the things that could be... let's just focus on right now."

Rai elbowed Asch in the stomach resulting in the taller demon falling to his knees, which made Yusuke and Kuwabara stop struggling for a minute to watch this quarrel. Kuwabara felt a wave of dread wash over him as he watched the younger demon's aura begin to take on an evil tint. Yusuke could tell something was wrong by the tension that suddenly hung in the air, and his demon senses began to kick in as he watched the icy blue eyes of Rai become crimson.

But it wasn't the color that disturbed the detective the most, it was the look in his eyes, as if the demon had lived in the darkest corner of the world. Death and pain had obviously been in this demon's past, but Yusuke knew it wasn't like most demons that lived in that manner. It was obvious that revenge was Rai's intention for the one who tortured him, and that he would do anything to achieve revenge. Even if it cost his own life in the end, there was no satisfaction for a person such as Rai unless he has completely annihilated that person.

Asch didn't look frightened, just wary of the younger demon as he slowly rose from the ground. Sable eyes stared into crimson, and suddenly Rai seemed to go back to normal. There was no longer a stifling presence in the air and the two humans felt it safe to breath finally.

"I'm sorry, it's just that... _those_ people use to do the same thing, and it always ended up with me being-" Rai was interrupted by Asch as the older demon stopped him with a finger to his lips.

"You don't have to explain anything, especially not in front of them, I remember everything you've told me of your past." Smiling Asch kissed the shorter fox on the lips tenderly. "Come on, we'll leave them and have some alone time."

----

**I'm really sorry for making you guys wait so long for this chapter! I've been negletful of my fic series, but now I'm getting back on track! I'm going to finish this series along with a couple others of mine by the end of this summer if it kills me! (Which it might...) But I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter!**

**Please R & R!**

**Shari Maxwell**


	10. Chapter 10

Hiei and Kurama were unable to figure out where the two fox demons had gone, as they stood at the mountain's base which had divided the path they'd been following directly in two. Each of them sensed something on the other path, and so they had resolved to take their own path individually and if they found the demons to signal for the other to come.

Hiei had chosen to search the mountain paths directly while Kurama was checking around the base of the mountain and a little of the surrounding area. Both of them had sensed something abnormal on one path but the other had seemed completely ordinary, while the two of them had noticed that as being odd they didn't have a lot of time to ponder over it.

The mountain path was pretty much an easy climb for Hiei as he could flit from area to area, which made him a lot faster at traveling. Though he wasn't truly finding anything indicating the demons had come up this way, that and he knew it wouldn't be quite as easy for the two of them to get up this steep route with two hostages weighing them down. But he wasn't completely sure how strong they truly were or to what extent their powers had developed.

"Damn Yusuke... why do I have to go and save you after what you did? I don't see why I should help you." Hiei muttered to himself when he felt something wrap around his ankle, it pulled him off of the ground swiftly and allowed him to dangle in midair.

Once he got a good look a the creature, he realized that it was what he had been sensing down at the base of the mountain. The reason Kurama hadn't sensed the monster was because it was a _plant_, and most likely the foxes had figured he wouldn't be tricked by a plant since they're his forte as well. Hiei on the other hand was able to recognize the plant as easily and had fallen for the trap.

He unsheathed his sword and attacked the vine that had began to swing him around like a rag doll. He landed on his feet and immediately he began to gain up some speed, he knew the monster wasn't likely to be that intelligent just strong with its brute strength. He stopped while the monster was trying to keep up with him, and it confused the giant plant.

Using this moment, Hiei slashed at the beast a few times and observed the damage done. Unfortunately it hadn't been much, but it had been enough to piss of the monster even further. It had began to thrash about violently which gave Hiei the opportunity to look for any weaknesses, and he found it. The only problem was going to be how to get to the tiny flower blooming on top of the plant's head (or what he figured was the head).

Instantly he began to use the same tactic as he had before, this time he used his momentum to push of the mountain and land on top the plant's head. As he was about to slice the tiny flower in two, it suddenly emitted some sort of gas that made Hiei dizzy and nauseous. He still managed to cut off the tiny flower and almost immediately the plant died, like Hiei had just cut out its heart.

But he wasn't really able to realize that he had been victorious as he fell to the ground unconscious. He couldn't believe he had fallen into that trap, and now Kurama was stuck facing the two of them on his own.

----

Kurama wasn't having any luck so far until he came across what looked to be a shred of cloth from Yusuke's shirt on the ground. He knew that they were close as he could sense some of the hidden plants all around the path, and knew they wouldn't attack unless he went off of that path. The two demons had set up a perfect trap, even with Kurama's powers he wasn't so stupid to try to take on all the plants they had set up around him and this made him walk directly into a confrontation.

As he arrived on, he could see Asch had obviously been expecting him for a while now, but Rai seemed slightly surprised that Kurama was there. The older demon stood up and walked right up to the redhead without even the slightest worry in his mind. He even had a smirk on his face as he slowly began to circle his enemy.

"I've always heard of you as powerful, but from the look of you... you're nothing more than a class C demon. I don't see how it's possible you're the legendary Youko Kurama, are you just bluffing?" Asch tried to taunt Kurama, and began becoming impatient once he knew it wouldn't work. "How about this then? You and I fight, one-on-one, and you can prove to me that you're really as powerful as the legends and stories make you out to be."

"All I want is my companions, I don't want to fight with either of you."

Rai began to get a dark look in his eyes once again, but Asch snapped him out of it quickly.

"Rai grab the dark-haired one and leave! Take him back to the boss now!"

Rai looked reluctant to obey, but he did. As he reached for Yusuke, Kurama decided to strike, there was no way he was allowing them to take away his friend no matter what had happened between them.

"No no Kurama, you're fight is with _me_!" Asch summoned several vines from the surrounding trees and the all targeted Kurama. Asch watched as the redhead dodged the vines with such a natural grace it began to tick the fox off even more.

He began to summon more vines, but this time he ordered them to go under the ground and to hold him down. Kurama wasn't able to realize his plan in time and was caught by the vines, unable to move he summoned up his infamous rose whip. He used the whip to destroy most of the oncoming vines, but there were just too many and he was cut several times all over his body.

He tried not to let the pain distract him as he cut at several more vines as the attempted to retreat from his body. This also gave him the chance to cut away one of the vines at his feet. Though there wasn't enough time for both as the vines had began to go on the attack once again. Asch was watching from a short distance, standing next to the now completely awake Kuwabara who was still gagged.

"Do you think he'll be able to beat me? I may not be as old and supposedly _experienced_ as him, but I have fought enough battles to know what I'm doing and how to kill my opponent mercilessly." He spoke to Kuwabara as if he really expected an reaction he would like, but when he looked at the young man's face he could see that he really believed Kurama would easily defeat him.

While he had been distracted, Kurama had freed himself from the vines and launched himself at Asch. He wrapped his rose whip around Asch as he fox's reaction was too slow for him, and he watched the expression change from angry to furious. Kurama suddenly felt an charge of energy and strength go through Asch as the fox managed to free one arm and grab onto the whip. He yanked it and it brought Kurama practically flying towards him.

Kurama let go of his whip in order to avoid Asch's attack, and landed close to Kuwabara. He didn't have time to take a close look at his friend as he watched Asch pull out a hidden knife, and the redhead hated how defenseless he felt but he had a plan and he had to put himself in this position in order to fulfill it.

"I won't be defeated by you! I can't allow you to live as long as I am alive! Because I know this is what Rai really wishes." Asch attacked Kurama hastily with his knife and kept him on the defensive. "After what you did to him, you can _never_ be forgiven! Pretending to care and then shoving him on _their_ doorstep!"

Kurama didn't allow himself to become distracted by the fact that Kuwabara was listening to one of the many horrible things he had done in his past. "I did many regrettable things in my past, and there is no way to undo them but I can't allow you to take it out on innocent people."

"Why do you even pretend to care about your supposed friends so much? All that's going to happen is you're going to abandon them just like you have everyone else in your life!" Asch once again lunged at Kurama and managed to cut him deeply on his side.

As the demon began to approach him, he knew his plan was a success. He hadn't really doubted himself, but there was never a sure way to predict all of your opponent's moves yet this time he had done it. "You shouldn't go around seeking revenge so recklessly, it's pointless and in the end you achieve nothing. All you'll feel after getting your revenge is the emptiness of no longer having a purpose in life."

"No you're wrong about that, I have plenty of revenge to seek. Not just on you either, there are many people waiting in line for my revenge you just happened to become the number one on my list after my boss ordered it."

Kurama suddenly fell to the ground in a crouch and Asch laughed at him thinking he was on his way to victory when he saw what was coming. When the vine sliced him clean in half as if he was nothing more than butter being sliced by a knife.

Kuwabara seemed shocked by what Kurama had done to his opponent, and the redhead knew he wouldn't be able to look at his companion just yet. He walked over to Asch who was now in two pieces, but still somewhat alive.

"How did you put the humans to sleep?"

"They're going to wake up... within another couple of days anyway... so it doesn't matter..."

"Now tell me, who's your boss?"

"Se... cr... et..." It was the last thing that Asch spoke before he died.

Kurama left the body and went over to Kuwabara to free him. They didn't really speak as they were finally reunited, and what Kuwabara said surprised Kurama.

"We shouldn't leave him like this... he at least deserves to be buried in a real grave." The young man's sympathy was touching, but Kurama knew it was his main weakness. Though he didn't object to it and helped his companion dig a grave using mainly his plants to loosen the soil and help.

After the grim task had been done, Kurama decided quickly make a plan. "Kuwabara, I'll track down Yusuke and Rai, but I need you to go retrieve Hiei. We split up a couple of miles back, and he took a path up the mountain go find him and then meet up with me here later."

Though Kuwabara was reluctant to follow through with this plan, he began heading back towards the area where Hiei and Kurama split. Kurama on the other hand, went towards the direction Rai headed off to, and knew that he would soon get into another battle.

_'Why did you have to cause so much trouble Youko?' _Kurama asked his other half, and unexpectedly got an answer.

_'I can't help it, it's just the way I am.'_

Kurama really couldn't stand Youko sometimes, and this happened to be one of the times he regretted ever having been the child Youko had chosen to inhabit.

----

**Well, this time I made sure not to make you guys wait for months just to read the next chapter! Anyways, I hope this chapter was enjoyable and I hope that the action wasn't too cheesy or anything.**

**Please R & R!**

**Shari Maxwell**


	11. Chapter 11

Rai didn't know how the battle was going, but he just hoped Asch would be back soon. The older demon had promised him that they could have a whole new life after this, and their boss had promised to put all of their crimes off the record so they would be left alone from now on. But Yusuke was really putting up a fight this time, because he knew the results of the battle already and knew Kurama had won.

He wasn't sure whether the other demon Asch was unconscious or dead, but Yusuke had always known Kurama to have a little more mercy than Hiei would. The spirit detective knew if Hiei had any involvement in the battle, that it definitely would've been a battle to the death.

"You know Kurama has probably lost by now, Asch is way more powerful than he looks." Rai didn't sound so sure of his words all of a sudden, and Yusuke knew the kid must be realizing that his friend had lost. "He promised that we would be together for the rest of our long lives, and I believe in him."

Yusuke continued to fight against his bonds until he finally started loosening them, but then the fox stopped abruptly. It seemed they had now reached his boss, and Yusuke couldn't believe who it was.

Of all people to cause all of this trouble, and Yusuke knew exactly why that Asch guy had told Rai to grab him. It was all revenge for that night Yusuke hadn't been able to control his hormones and did something regrettable to Kurama, and it was all about to come back to him ten-fold.

----

Kuwabara followed Kurama's directions just as he remembered them, but he still couldn't find Hiei anywhere. Of course there was always the chance that the demon was hiding from him on purpose just to piss him off, but that wasn't a very likely case considering the situation they were in. There was still no sign of him, so Kuwabara continued climbing higher until he saw this giant brown object on the path.

Upon getting closer, he was able to see it was actually a plant that apparently was dead now. He noticed that it almost looked like the plant was _bleeding_ on the top of its head, and that made Kuwabara realize the plant must have been why Hiei hadn't shown up to Kurama's aide that whole fight. _This_ thing must've been Hiei's opponent while Kurama's had been the fox demon Asch.

Then he began calling out Hiei's name in hopes that Hiei was still nearby, and he saw something glinting just a few feet ahead of the monster. Kuwabara carefully inched his way around the beast, just to make sure it didn't come back to life, and then went to grab a sword that looked exactly like Hiei's.

"What is this? A trail of breadcrumbs or something?"

Eventually Kuwabara could see Hiei, on the ground just lying there almost as if he was sleeping. Kuwabara took this chance to shake the demon awake, but it didn't seem to be working all that well so he just threw Hiei over his shoulder and began to head back down the mountain. But without really thinking about it, Kuwabara tried to sheathe Hiei's sword, which just ended up falling out and over the side of the cliff.

"No!" Kuwabara put Hiei back on the ground to see where the sword had landed, and spotted on a small area about twenty feet below. "How the hell am I supposed to get it?! He'll kill me if he finds out I dropped his sword down there and just left it!"

That's when Kuwabara got a brilliant idea, and ran back to the dead plant. He didn't know if the thing would come back to life by him doing this, but if it did he would just kill it again. He summoned his own sword and began cutting off a few of the huge vines on the beast, after he had cut off enough he dragged them back over to where the sword was.

He tied one to a huge boulder and tested to make sure the boulder wouldn't fall over with his full wait, he then tied another vine to that one and tied the other end around his waist. He prayed that he would get out of this alive, and then began scaling the cliff almost like a professional rock climber. The vines lasted almost the whole way when one of the snapped and let Kuwabara fall the last eight feet to the little are where Hiei's sword was.

"Damn! How am I supposed to get back up there now?" Kuwabara slumped down and sighed, and then grabbed Hiei's sword. "Now that I'm stuck down here with you, I'll make sure you don't go anywhere. As for me... I guess I just gotta hope Hiei wakes up really soon."

Kuwabara waited around for an excruciating ten minutes before he couldn't stand it anymore, he began examining Hiei's sword more closely. This was the first time he had ever touched a real deadly weapon, well that didn't disappear when he willed it to, and it made him feel really strong just holding the sword.

"Hah, the only reason Hiei has such a big sword is because nothing else on him is big!" Kuwabara couldn't help but laugh at his own joke when he heard a pissed off voice call to him from up above.

"So I suppose you don't want to get up here?" Hiei was glaring at him angrily and Kuwabara could see it clearly even from twenty feet below. "Why the hell are you and my sword down there anyway?"

"I'll tell you as long as you don't leave me down here! Please!" Kuwabara stood up and continued begging the demon until Hiei sighed. "Does that mean you'll help me?"

Hiei rolled his eyes, "If I ever want my sword back I suppose I _have_ to."

"Don't make me sound like such a burden!" Kuwabara yelled up defensively as Hiei threw down a different vine.

After a while, Kuwabara finally managed to get to the top of the cliff and gave Hiei his sword back. "If you want to know the truth, when I came here looking for _you_, you had knocked your sword down there and I went to go get it for you."

"You're lying, you and your guilt made you go down there after_ you _knocked it down there. Didn't you?" Hiei sheathed his sword properly and then turned to glare at Kuwabara once again.

Kuwabara tried not to cave in, but after about a minute of the death glare, he couldn't take it any longer. "All right! I did knock it down there, but I didn't mean to!"

"Whatever, where's Kurama and Yusuke?"

"Kurama chased after Yusuke and that fox kid after he fought with that other guy with the black hair." Kuwabara and Hiei began heading down the mountain path and Kuwabara led Hiei until the demon suddenly began to speed up the pace. "Why are we running?"

"Don't you sense that? It's a lot of power coming from some demon, and Kurama won't be able to face it alone."

----

Kurama knew he was close, but his mind was wondering elsewhere as he could see some of Youko's memories of his early years as a thief. He knew the story he had told Hiei had been a lie, but Kurama knew if he had told the truth about what happened to Rai those years ago it would even make Hiei think of him as cruel. But Youko hadn't really cared for him that much, and at the time it wouldn't have even made the fox think twice.

His human form however, wasn't as callous as the demon half was, and he really wished Youko would just take responsibility for his actions instead of doing what he had done to Rai. There was no way to turn back time and redo it though, and that's why Kurama continued forward yet he still thought about everything that had led up to this moment...

_"The damn kid has worked my last nerve, and with this big job coming up I can't have him tagging along. I think he's outstayed his welcome long enough, and hopefully he'll get the idea if I just tell him to leave." Youko was speaking to his newest plants as he tested their abilities. "The only question is what should I do with him? I need to put him somewhere he'll probably never get away from..."_

_Youko stood up as Rai walked out from the forest, as usual he happily greeted the older fox demon and then made sure to follow him everywhere. Only being a young demon, he didn't quite comprehend how it irritated Youko so much, and he continued to watch Youko as he proceeded with his routine. _

_Eventually Youko stopped and turned around to look at Rai, his golden eyes scanning the young demon thoughtfully. He then knelt down to the kid's height and looked him straight in the eye, "Would you mind staying with someone while I go on this next job of mine?"_

_Rai didn't know any better, and couldn't see the deceit in the fox's eyes. "Well I was hoping to go with you again, but I guess I wouldn't mind... Who are they?"_

_"They'll love having you with them, and they'll take care of you while I'm gone. Just make sure you don't disobey them, they're very strict about their rules." Youko began leading the young fox toward the mansion of the Black Book Club (BBC), not telling the young demon what exactly was in store for him._

_He knew everything that went on inside of that mansion, but he knew this way the fox would never bother him again. Though he did have a moment in which his mind continued trying to convince him this was too cruel for just a child, but there's no better way to learn how to survive unless your put into a life-death situation. That was his only reasoning for actually doing this to poor Rai, was that he would learn how to survive if he managed to escape that Hell._

_He sent Rai right up to the front door, and watched as the young fox rang the doorbell. As soon as the door was opened, the boy was practically grabbed and thrown inside by what appeared to be a huge bodyguard of the mansion and the people inside._

_"It is unfortunate Rai, that I was the one who happened to come along a pick you up. Perhaps if you'd been just a bit luckier and someone else had found you first, you wouldn't be in this situation." _

_The fox turned from the mansion, knowing full well the child had a very slim chance to survive in there. The place where humans had twisted the laws of nature by torturing demons, and doing insane tests on demons. Yet Youko knew it to be of human's nature to destroy the natural order, and for once they had come in handy._

_After all, he couldn't have that brat following him and screwing up this job just like he had the last time._

_----_

**I think this is the first flashback scene I actually put into this series... Well I hope that this chapter was just as good as the last one was, even though I didn't realize how popular of a character Asch (and I guess Rai) had become with some fans. It kind of inspired me to think about maybe writing a bonus chapter for the two of them towards the end if ya'll would like. Then again, that might not be what you guys are looking for either.**

**Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter as we're getting close to the end. Hope that wasn't disappointing news to any of ya'll, but all good things must come to an end, right?**

**Please R & R!**

**Shari Maxwell**


	12. Chapter 12

Kurama could sense a great power ahead of him, but even so he didn't hesitate the slightest bit. He knew Yusuke would be there, and no matter what happened between them it was Kurama's job to save the spirit detective. The redhead could see a clearing ahead of him, and already he could see Rai and Yusuke, but the third person with them was concealed in the shadows.

He came to a stop as he first entered the clearing, and could see Rai looking puzzled by his being there. The young fox demon's icy blue eyes flashed a dark red as his mind finally wrapped around what had resulted from Kurama and Asch's fight. "You killed him didn't you? You murdered the only person in this world who ever cared about me!"

Rai's eyes now stayed that crimson color as the fox summoned up several large chains that surrounded him, Kurama was somewhat surprised that this was his main weapon instead of some type of plant. The younger demon had figured Kurama would expect something like Asch, but they had _very_ different fighting styles and so Rai knew he had a slight advantage at the moment.

"Not all fox demons are required to use plants, are we Kurama?" Rai had never felt such an adrenaline rush in his life, but he knew it was because he was so close at achieving his revenge finally. He had waited at least sixteen years for this moment, and he knew there was no way he was going to pass it up. "Prepare to die Kurama, for I won't show you any mercy just like you!"

Kurama decided not to use his rose whip for this fight, since it was what Rai probably expected from him. He wasn't sure the full extent of the chains, but he figured if he stayed at the distance he was at, he wouldn't be hit right away. Rai basically flung the chain at Kurama, but as the redhead was about to just jump back he could now see the end of the chain had some sort of knife attached to it.

The redhead wasn't able to dodge in time, but only suffered a small cut on his arm. He now observed all of Rai's chains as the fox had to bring the chain back in so he could throw it once again. Kurama could now count five chains, three of them were like the one that just attacked him, one of them had a giant sphere on the end of the chain, and the last one was shorter than all the others which had completely wrapped itself around the fox's body.

There wasn't much more time to analyze the chains as Rai had now recovered from his initial attack and threw another chain towards Kurama. The redhead now dodged the first chain but this time Rai threw the other two chains with the knives towards Kurama, leaving the redhead no choice but to attempt to retreat into the surrounding forest.

One of the chains got stuck inside of a tree trunk, so Kurama took a chance of trying to make it to where Rai couldn't get that chain back. He used the tree's bark, but had it encase the chain so it was nearly impossible to pull back out. As he had hoped Rai was unable to pull back that chain, so he dropped it and continued flinging his other two at the redhead.

Yet after a few minutes Rai was unable to sense Kurama's presence, as the redhead had cleverly hidden himself. But that's when Rai pulled on the chain with the large sphere on the end of it, and somehow that frail looking demon was able to lift that chain above his own head and began to swing it around in a circle.

"Don't think you'll be able to hide from me forever, Kurama. That's exactly what this chain is for, it's exactly why I created this chain for. I believe you humans calling it dousing, but I use this chain to search for people like _you_ who won't come out in the open and fight me." Rai let go of the chain, and it went straight towards Kurama.

He managed to dodge it just barely as he saw the power of the chain as it smashed through nearly three trees. Kurama knew that Rai must specialize in long distance fighting, as the chains would be too much of a hassle in close range combat. He took his chances closing in on his opponent.

Kurama was able to quickly close the distance between Rai and himself, and landed a solid hit knocking Rai back a couple of feet. But before he could deliver another hit to the demon, the chain with the giant sphere had been pulled back in by Rai but in the process had began to wrap itself around Kurama.

He realized that this must've been Rai's intention all along, was to get Kurama within his reach to trap him with the chains. The younger fox laughed as he knew his plan had worked against the redhead, "You didn't think that was all the chain was for, did you?"

Kurama knew he only had one shot of really winning this fight in his condition, and that was to sap all of the power out of Rai slowly. Kurama was already hurt from his previous fight with Asch and the exhaustion from that fight to this fight was beginning to take a toll on his ability to think and fight.

"What Youko did to you was terrible, but I cannot allow you to take this out on Yusuke or my other friends. This fight is just between you and me, so let Yusuke go." Kurama didn't know how much of a chance he had of this working, but he intended to try anyway. He managed to summon one rose and aim it for a spot where the chain wasn't protecting Rai's body. "Just forget about Youko and that part of your past. Revenge isn't going to make that part of your life go away, so I can't see the point of you only focusing your life on killing him."

While he continued to infuriate Rai, he threw the rose and it hit exactly where it needed to. The younger fox pulled the rose out of his side without even flinching, and got close to Kurama. "You took the only person who I could ever hope to have a future with, so now all I can think about is the past."

Rai tried to use one of his chains to fatally wound Kurama, but found he was suddenly lacking the strength to do so. The fox realized almost instantly what was happening, the rose hadn't just been some feeble attempt of attacking him, it was to set off a poison within his body. He no longer had the choice of slowly killing Kurama, so he decided to strangle him to death. It was still a very painful death, and it even gave Rai enough time to watch him enjoy the demon who ruined his life dying.

As he was about to proceed with his plan, he suddenly stopped as he felt cold metal. Kurama felt the chains loosen and begin to fall, and then he could see why. Hiei had done what Kurama wasn't able to do, he had administered the fatal blow to the young demon.

There was a sudden sick feeling that made Kurama unable to keep standing straight, this kind of thing had never happened to him before. Was it the guilt of Rai's death being all his fault? He wasn't entirely sure, but he just wanted to stop time and make this feeling go away. Kurama didn't say anything as Rai continued to advance toward him, and Hiei didn't attempt to stop the demon either.

Kuwabara was busy freeing Yusuke, but Hiei watched Kurama and Rai closely. Making sure the younger fox didn't attempt to do anything he would end up regretting even more when Hiei killed him in a more cruel way.

"You really are a thief... You stole my past and now even my future."

Kurama still had the sickening feeling overwhelming him, but he managed still managed to say something to Rai. "I'm sorry... but you've brought this fate on yourself by seeking revenge when you could've lived freely."

He caught the demon as he fell, and knew he was going to bury him properly as well right beside his comrade. But at the moment he couldn't deal with that, as there was still one last battle to finish. Kurama laid Rai on the edge of the clearing and then stood beside his friends, but them being reunited wasn't able to be celebrated as the leader of all of this finally revealed himself.

"You dirty bastard, all of this was your doing?" Hiei was the first to get over the shock of seeing that man here, and even Yusuke was still having trouble getting over it. "All of this just for some amusement for your sake?!"

"No Hiei, this was for Kurama's sake. I was planning on punishing Yusuke for what he had done to you Kurama, since you had so eagerly begged me to tell you a while back... but it seems you no longer desire revenge."

"So why did you have to send them to fight me? Just because I decided I didn't want to hurt Yusuke for revenge?" Kurama asked the demon, and still he didn't get a real reaction from him. "How could you do this... Yomi?"

----

Shizuru suddenly shot up in bed, she felt as if she'd been having an extremely long nightmare and got out of bed to go see what time it was. It was already the middle of the afternoon, but when she checked the date everything indicated that today was apparently two days off from what she could figure. She turned on the TV, and apparently everyone in Japan was suffering from this confusion as well.

"I've never slept for longer than twelve hours at a time... so how the hell did all of Japan sleep for two days straight?" Shizuru was trying to figure this all out when it occurred to her to see where Kuwabara was and if her baby bro was alright. She went to his room and banged on the door, after a while of no response she opened the door to find his room empty. "Where'd he go at a time like this?!"

Shizuru rushed downstairs and grabbed some shoes so she could go see if Kuwabara was at Yusuke's house. When she got there, Yusuke's mother was still asleep and neither Yusuke nor Kuwabara were to be found. So Shizuru went to Keiko's house and found that her and her family were awake.

"Have you seen Kuwabara anywhere?" Shizuru usually didn't show how much she cared for her brother, but at a time like this she didn't care who saw her in such a panic.

"No, have you seen Yusuke?"

"Wait... if the two of them are missing that means something did happen. I wonder about Kurama and Hiei then... if they're missing then they must have gone somewhere together."

The two girls then decided to head over to Kurama's house, where his mother answered the door.

Keiko smiled sweetly and asked, "Is Kur- Shuichi here?"

"No, I haven't seen him since I woke up from my nap... It really is odd that I can't remember the past day or so. Anyways, I'm sorry he's not in right now, but I can tell him you came by." The two girls had forgotten how innocent Kurama's human mother was, as she smiled at them.

"That's okay, we'll just talk to him at school."

The two girls left and they agreed that three out of four of them missing was _no_ coincidence. The only questions left to answer is where were they and what was going on?

----

**First off... R.I.P. Asch & Rai...**

**Just a little tribute to two of the characters who are no longer alive... **

**Anyways, I hope this chapter was just as satisfying as the last few chapters have been. So I hope this one doesn't disappoint any of you guys with this chapter either. And I only felt it fair to you readers, that you all know that the next chapter will be the final one for Misery Loves Company. Hopefully this news isn't too terrible for you guys... I just wanted to make sure I gave everyone a good ending for all the times I've made you wait for another chapter, and I'm crossing my fingers that you guys won't hate me for ending it so soon**

**And I promise to write that bonus chapter! **

**Anyways, hope ya'll enjoyed!**

**Please R & R!**

**Shari Maxwell**


	13. Chapter 13

Keiko and Shizuru had decided to go up to Genkai's temple to see what the old woman had to say about all of this. She always seemed to know what the four guys were up to, and they honestly wouldn't find any more information besides from here.

When they arrived at the temple they found Yukina sitting with Genkai, almost as if they had been expecting the girls to come to them. Shizuru was the first up the stairs and when she saw that Hiei was nowhere to be found either (you could usually catch a glimpse of him around); she knew they had guessed right.

"So where have they gone?" Shizuru didn't feel any less panicked than before, but she was able to compose herself better now. "When will they come back?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't think it'll be long. Perhaps tonight they'll be back, but who's to say that idiot boy and his friends don't know how to clean up their messes properly." Genkai stood up and went inside where it appeared that Yukina had already prepared tea for all of them. "Well, it wasn't entirely his fault this time though... it appears that Kurama is also to blame for this fiasco."

"So how much do you know? You seem to know a lot more than we do, but then again we know little to nothing." Shizuru ignored her tea and instead lit up a cigarette. "If this is Kurama's problem, then why is it that all four of them are involved?"

The old woman didn't say anything for a moment as she sipped her tea, and she seemed to ponder on whether she should really explain it all to them. But she knew the three of them would be worried about all of them, so it persuaded her to go ahead and catch them up.

"You all fell asleep about two or three days ago, I'm sure you've figured out. The reason why is because there were two demons who sent in some plant spores through the water system and other methods. They're obviously not deadly, just meant to put things to sleep. For a demon the spores will only have an effect for a little over an hour or so, but for humans it is much more potent." She sipped her tea thoughtfully as if there was nothing to worry about the fact someone had actually poisoned the water. "Those four had been in Makai when all of this was occurring so of course they weren't affected, but they found you guys when they returned. This was the demon's chance to strike and of course they attempted it, but apparently it their fight didn't end completely in their favor. That's all I know, you can speak with them when they get back."

"What did that have to do with Kurama or Yusuke?" Keiko asked before Genkai could leave.

"The demons wanted their revenge on Kurama, but someone else who hired them wanted revenge on Yusuke for what he did to Kurama. It's really not as complicated if you just ask them yourselves, so please stop questioning me of things I don't want to reveal."

Genkai got up and left the room, firmly shutting the door behind her the three girls looked at each other. None on them said a word at first, but then Yukina suddenly spoke up. "I feel sort of bad for Kurama... He really has no one to talk to like Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei do."

"Well he has the other guys to support him, so why would you say that?" Keiko didn't seem to quite understand Yukina's point, but Shizuru understood perfectly.

"She means that Yusuke has _you_, Keiko. Kuwabara has me to talk to and I suppose Hiei has gotten better about talking with Yukina now that she knows they're siblings, but Kurama really doesn't have anyone that close to support him. He has his mother, but she doesn't know anything about his demon side or why he disappears for extended periods of time all the time."

The three of them went quiet as none of them really knew what to say after that.

----

"You had no right to toy with their lives like that..." Kuwabara had never really gone up against an opponent like Yomi, and he was reluctant to do so unless it was necessary. "They probably would be alive if it weren't for you."

"No, they would be alive if it weren't for _Kurama_ and _Hiei_. After all, no one said Kurama had to kill Asch in such a brutal manner and Hiei didn't have to kill Rai either, the boy had lost and knew it." Yomi smirked as he could see none of them were really buying into what he was saying. "Look Kurama, I only really did this for you but if you can't appreciate my gift then I will gladly take back my offer."

"It was never your decision to make Yomi." Kurama couldn't remember a time he felt more pissed off at Yomi, just knowing two other people (well... _demons) _had died just for Yomi's sick pleasure. "I'll make sure you regret it."

Hiei, Kuwabara, and Yusuke knew what Kurama had in mind, but they had their own anger at the demon as well. This gave them a reason to fight alongside Kurama, as they knew he wouldn't question their motives.

Hiei was the first to attack Yomi in a blur of strikes and slashes with his sword, but Yomi was able to swiftly dodge the attacks. Kuwabara had tried to surprise him with an attack from behind with his own spirit sword, but the S-class demon was not easily fooled and avoided the blow.

Kurama felt frozen for a minute, as he watched his friends begin the battle he remained in his place. He knew he didn't have time to waste as this was a life or death situation, but he felt he needed to let them know... Whether it was truly for them or just some way to relieve his guilt, Kurama couldn't say for sure, but he liked to hope it was for the right reason.

_'I'm sorry... I will avenge your deaths, that is all I can do for you now.'_ Kurama was about to help his companions when his demon half spoke out to him.

_'Not this time Shuichi, it is _my_ fault for these events and I shall be responsible for the consequences._'

Without any time to argue, Youko began to force the human body to transform into his own so he could finish what he had started. The fox let out a deep breath as he watched the other three continue to attack Yomi, and then brought out his own weapon. He wanted to end this battle with the traditional weapon of choice, his rose whip.

The others were somewhat surprised when they saw Youko was there instead of the redhead they were used to seeing clean up the fox demon's messes. Hiei wasn't a stunned as Yusuke and Kuwabara, but that moment gave Yomi to get in a clean hit to send Hiei back a few feet.

"You know this was all your fault Youko. It began with you blinding me and ended with you killing those two imbeciles, and you're all to blame." Yomi smirked as he thought his taunting was successful, but Youko didn't allow it to faze him.

Perhaps if it had been Shuichi Minamino fighting that kind of thing would have made him hesitate, but for Youko he knew there was no time for mercy or regret. Yusuke called for the fox to get out of his way as he was going to use the technique dubbed 'shotgun'. At this same moment, Hiei decided to unleash his dragon upon Yomi completely overwhelming the demon even with his power.

Youko knew the attack wasn't enough to kill Yomi, but he knew the combined power of Hiei and Yusuke would be enough to injure him severely. He launched himself at Yomi as the dust began to settle and wrapped his rose whip around the demon's neck. He fell to his knees as Youko tightened the whip around his neck enough to suffocate him, but didn't kill him quite yet.

"Do not get the idea in your head that I need you to save me, Yomi." Youko stood over Yomi only showing how much of a disadvantage the demon was at.

"Don't flatter yourself Youko... It wasn't entirely for you, I was hoping for this fight to settle the score of you stealing my eyesight. But it seems it has back-fired on me..." Yomi laughed as he felt Youko grow angrier, "Listen fox, I know when I'm beaten, so release me."

"You sacrificed two other lives and you expect me to merciful to you? I think you're mentally unstable Yomi, because when did you ever get the idea that I would leave you alive this time?" Youko smirked as he saw Yomi's expression change ever so slightly, "Goodbye, it's over now for you Yomi."

With a small adjustment of his wrist, the rose whip began to slowly cut into Yomi's neck showing it's strength. The demon didn't fight his death which didn't surprise Youko, Yomi at least knew how to handle his defeat.

Kuwabara chose not to watch and instead turned his attention to the motionless body of Rai. He gently picked up the demon and waited as he heard a sickening _thunk_. Yusuke had also decided not to watch it happen and had turned away from the display, but Hiei was watching Youko intently.

That's when Hiei figured why he had fallen for Shuichi, the human, rather than Youko. They were both unmatched in their looks, but Shuichi had something Youko had never really had. Even though Hiei considered it what made Kurama weak at times, he knew it was also the reason he loved the redhead.

It was his _heart_... Something Youko had never been allowed to have, and even Hiei himself lacked it but something about it in Shuichi had drawn Hiei in.

Not long after finishing off Yomi, Youko transformed back into Kurama. The redhead quickly turned away, and went over to Hiei and his friends. "Let's bury Rai and then go home, I can't stand this place any more."

They did bury Rai beside Asch, and immediately left for the only place they could feel at peace. Back with their other friends and family, most blissfully ignorant of what they were constantly up against in the double lives, while others able to understand all of what was happening.

Almost automatically the four went to Genkai's temple first, where they found the old woman standing outside as if waiting for their arrival. She sighed, and the four girls who had been waiting for them to return came out of the room. They were all astonished to see all of the girls awake already, but not too astonished to not enjoy their reunion.

Right after Keiko hugged Yusuke and told him how she had been so worried, she began to scold him. Kuwabara received the same treatment from Shizuru, but Yukina just smiled warmly at Hiei as she knew better than to attempt to hug him.

"I'm glad you're all back safe and well."

Hiei had a small blush as he still had a hard time dealing with Yukina knowing of their relationship to each other. But Kurama elbowed him into saying something, what it was Kurama couldn't be sure since it just came out as some sort of mutter.

After a while Yusuke had offered to take Keiko home which she accepted gratefully, and Kuwabara and Shizuru went off as well. Kurama was heading back to his family himself when Hiei joined him suddenly.

"Shouldn't you stay with Yukina? She must've been really worried about you being gone." Kurama tried to sound as if that was what he really wanted Hiei to do, but it wasn't convincing enough for the demon.

"You're such a stubborn fool Kurama!"

This made Kurama stop and his emerald eyes met Hiei's crimson ones. Hiei pulled on Kurama's shirt to make him come down a bit, just enough so he could steal a kiss from the redhead.

"I know you're going to feel all guilty about everything that's happened, and I'm trying to tell you that you don't have to be alone!"

Kurama touched his lips and smiled, and then suddenly laughed at the earnestness of Hiei's statement.

"I suppose the saying goes... misery loves company, right?" Kurama smiled and stole another kiss from Hiei, "I suppose I'll share mine with you."

----

**Sorry to any Yomi fans out there! I wasn't really intending to kill him off in the end, but I suppose that's just how my mind wanted this story to end. Just to make sure everyone does understand this is the _final_ chapter of Misery Loves Company, but I will have you all know this won't be the end of my HieiKurama fics. **

**After all there _might_ be a sequel to this, probably with a bit more yaoiness in it, but it's only a maybe for now. (Which means that more than likely I will.) Anyways, I hope everyone was satisfied with this ending!**

**I'll be posting the series as Complete, as it techinically is, but there's still a chance of that bonus chapter. Unfortunately I have quite a bit going on, so the chapter might not come out for a long time... or ever. But I made sure to at least give an ending I thought decent and hopefully you guys thought so as well. So I do apologize if the bonus chapter never does come, but I have a lot of stuff going on and I'm only going to get busier... **

**Please R & R (for the last time)!**

**Shari Maxwell**


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